神々の悪戯
She wakes on Thursday morning to the sun shining straight onto her bed, but luckily not straight into her eyes, although she does cringe back at the intense light. She stares at where she thinks her hand is through the almost white mist, and when her skin finally fades into view, she finds herself oddly focused on it for some reason that completely escapes her.
Same four fingers and a thumb. Same fingernails of varying lengths. Same scar on her finger. Same everything. So why-
And then it hits her like a sunbeam to the face, which hurts just as much as a bargepole, despite its lack of physical presence.
Her hands are clean. Not like 'clean from dirt' but clean of everything. No flecks of clay underneath broken fingernails. No paints or dyes staining her fingers and hands. There's nothing. Never has the lack of anything caused such a panic in her (except for the lack of supplies that one time, but that's an entirely different story).
When was the last time she painted? Drew? Sketched? Threw a pot or sewed a dress?
Days. It had been days. When was the last time she spent more than twelve hours without doing something artistic, constructive? There had been times when she'd gone to bed, collapsed into bed, after hours of painting, only to wake up and shrug a painting shirt on over her naked body, continuing her work without eating or drinking anything.
Had she been so depressed by the thought of not being able to take anything back with her (whether it was waking up or leaving this Garden) that she'd forgotten that she could still practice, still refine the skills she already possessed?
Maybe it was the wine?
She flings back the covers, moving to head out to the supply store, only to pause with her hand on the door. It would probably be a good idea to get some proper clothes on first.
神々の悪戯
She stares at her room as she looks around at the various boxes now filling the room and decides that maybe, just maybe, she might have gone a tad bit overboard. Just a bit.
Umm….maybe if she moves the table over there…..? And where's the box containing the easel? Did she remember to get the storage drawers for the paints and brushes?
She sets her phone to play, (she could do everything on it that didn't require an internet or network connection, and somehow it hadn't gone down in battery at all despite being constantly on for the past six days), letting the sound of Pitbull's Timber fill the air as she starts hunting through the boxes for the right place to start.
Which was…not there…or there…maybe…no….
Hmm….
神々の悪戯
She misses breakfast.
神々の悪戯
Inadvertently skips lunch.
神々の悪戯
Dinner doesn't even enter her mind.
神々の悪戯
She's shaking her hips to Sia's Chandelier as she tries to make up the right shade of red when she barely hears the knock at the door. At first, she even mistakes it for part of the music, but then the song changes to Shake It Off and the knock doesn't fit in with the beat.
She barely remembers to put the brush in water before making her way over, and opens the door to Dionysus, Apollo and Inner We-…Kusanagi, in a shirt covered with flecks of paint, shorts barely appearing beneath the hem, and long, bare legs…also covered in spatterings of different colours.
"Ah, Cee-Cee," the sparkly one nearly shouts, as he near flings himself at her, "I thought I felt someone painting." And then she's bypassed as he walks inside, heading straight for the easel. Wait, what? Does he not understand this is her room?! Hers! She's a half-second away from blinking away the sudden haze over her eyes when she feels the warm hand on her arm, and she looks up into those gorgeous emerald eyes.
"Cosmotos-san?" Seriously, Inner Weakling? You need to learn how to read a situation. "Are you alright? We missed you at meal times today."
"I was busy." Her fingers rub together and flecks of dried paint crumble off, floating down to the floor. "What time is it?"
"Ten past eight, Darcy." God, she loves his voice. "Come on, let's get you something to eat."
"But…Apollo…" She doesn't want him in her room, especially without her there.
"Apollo, come on!" Dionysus calls out, as he guides her out of her room. "We're getting food."
"But Dee-Dee," echoes out of the room, "You should see this! It's amazing! She's definitely one of mine!" She barely notices the hand tighten about her arm since she stumbles over an empty cardboard box, landing on Dionysus. A hand tilts her head up from where it's resting on a muscular chest, and she breathes in deeply the scent of wine.
"Obviously," the warm voice mutters, "he hasn't seen you drunk." For some reason, that's really funny, so she begins giggling, and giggling, and she just can't stop, so she pushes her face back into that toned chest. She barely notices the mumbling of voices, but she definitely notices when she moves from vertical to horizontal as she is picked up, and she lets out a mild yelp at the manoeuvre, arms flying so her hands meet each other at the nape of Dionysus' neck.
神々の悪戯
He watches in near awe as she downs the first plate of food within moments, cold meats and cheeses disappearing at a phenomenal speed after the first few bites as she discovered just how hungry she actually was. Then the glass of water is downed, seemingly without the need to swallow, and she pauses for a second, looking at the second plate as though to gauge just how hungry she actually was, before she pulls it over with a faint shrug.
At least she eats this one more slowly.
"How was class?" she asks between bites.
"It was…" How to describe it? Annoying? Boring? Time-wasting? Considering how much of it he slept through, it'd be much better for him if he slept in an actual bed, because at least then his neck wouldn't hurt and he'd have a decent pillow. And the thing about the monsters, and Thoth walking out… "The sa-"
"Scary!" Apollo interrupts, and he's never wanted to hit him as much as he does right now. "Thoth-sensei talks so fast about all these 'body composition' things, and it's just so intense!" She blinks at him, takes a bite, chews, swallows, and says-
"Aren't you the god of medicine? Or healing? Shouldn't you already know about the human body and its composition?" It shouldn't be so amusing the way Apollo blinks as though shocked that someone's talking to him like that. "And if doctors around the world swear to you, Asclepius and Hippocrates, I really despair about global healthcare systems." He can't help but scoff at the complete gobsmacked look on his older brother's face, especially as she continues with- "I suppose though, especially with the way you divide your attention, it can't be expected for you to know; after all, 'a jack of all trades, but a master of none', right?"
He's going to split his sides trying to keep his laughter in. It was rare for someone to not like Apollo, (sure, Hera didn't still didn't much like him, just how she hated any child of Zeus who wasn't hers also, and most of his brother's enemies had either been slain by his brother almost immediately or were now long-since dead), so this was truly a sight to behold.
The god of poetry, speechless. This is not just a sight to behold, it's one to remember for the rest of eternity.
神々の悪戯
"Mmm, it's so warm," she yawns out as she walks back to her rooms, Dionysus at her side, Apollo and the Inner W-…Kusanagi following behind them like ducklings…or people who can't take a hint at all. Like seriously, there's a vibe going on here people!
"Father changed the season to Summer," she hears Dionysus responds, and what the fuck? Zeus (or whomever her brain has placed in charge of the 'season'/'temporal controls') made Spring last less than a week? "Summer vacation starts tomorrow, whatever that is," he continues, and she turns to look at him, eyebrow raised.
"You've been in class for maybe five days, and it's already time for a vacation? There are kids who would love that." And parents who would kill whoever decided that was a good decision.
"I take it that's how you see the 'fun side of school life'?" And that…sounds like he's quoting someone.
"Cosmotos-san!" Do not turn around and punch her face in for interrupting, do not! "We're going to have school vacations to the beach and the forest and mountains. Will you come with us?" School holidays to the beach? Wait, where did In-…Kusanagi come from in real life (pretend that this is real, remember!)? Somewhere in Asia, wasn't it? China, or Japan, or something like that? What type of school had holidays going to a beach? This is just her subconscious wanting to go somewhere with sun and alcohol, right? And that would also explain why the 'season' had changed.
"Sun-lounger, sketch-book, summer cocktails, and sexy, sun-kissed, swimsuit-clad bodies," she makes certain to waggle her eyebrows at Dionysus for the last one, "sounds like a beautiful plan. I'd better go get some beach-stuff from the store." Dionysus grins back at her.
"I'll come help you decide on which items to get…for quality control, of course."
"But of course."
"In a bit," she calls out to Apollo and the purple-haired Weak-…Kusanagi as she walks off with Dionysus, waving a hand a couple of times as a farewell, ignoring what the girl stutters as her reply. "And you," she comments, leaning into Dionysus, poking him in the bicep. "You just want to watch me try on swimsuits."
"Would you like to watch me try on some as well then?" That makes her freeze mid-step, and she tugs his hand to get him to turn back, both of them now facing each other in the dusk light that is shining through the windows of the hallway.
"Now that, would be a great pleasure."
神々の悪戯
They sit next to each other on the floor, leaning against a column next to the counters, as they flip through the magic catalogue that she thinks of as a bit more like Amazon, or Ebay, than anything else. Seriously, you told it what you were looking for, like a big beach-bag, and a few other things, like the material you wanted it made out of, and the colour, and maybe if it had any pockets or divisions on the inside, and then the book glowed, and the rest of the catalogue was filled with examples.
It's kind of like a dream come tr-…true…
Hmm…
And they can't try on the swimsuits there, because apparently they get made to order, or something like that. Hell, they might even see what she's looking for, and then just go and 'borrow' it from the…Real World? Other World? How on Earth is she supposed to make the difference known?
Then again, she might not actually be on Earth, so…
And yet, she'd still placed in an order for suntan lotion, even though this might all be the result of a tumour pressing on part of her brain, or her being in a coma, or anything else that you normally only read in those angsty novels or see on those stupid soap-operas. At least she'll get the opportunity to use it; maybe she'll get Dionysus to put some on her back…oooh, maybe she can convince him to let her put some on him? Wouldn't that be a treat!
Lotion, towels, more hair-ties just in case. A special shower-gel that boasted it's capabilities in 'removing salt and sand from those hard-to-reach places'. A parasol in all the colours of the rainbow, because who knows if whatever beach resort they're going to even has parasols for their sun-loungers.
Anything else…anything else…?
Food and drinks should be sorted, if it's a beach resort they're going to, because where there's a resort, there's always a beach-bar…
"For the more childish amongst them," she chuckles to Dionysus, as she flicks through the options and points out what she wants to him; his response is a loud laugh as he turns to rest his forehead on her shoulder.
"They'll…they'll love it."
神々の悪戯
Saturday dawns (at about 11am, so still really early), to a delivery in her room…and her trying on the three swimsuits she'd selected, seeing which one was best. One of them, now that she was actually trying it on, was too…dainty. Lots of ribbons and shit, and the panties on it disappeared up her butt-crack every time she walked more than five paces without adjusting them. Big no on that one. The second felt like it could be the one, what with its more tankini like design, the black fabric with almost-black ivy embroidered onto it, fitting her like a glove, but she tries on the third, a deep blood-red swimsuit just in case, but no.
No, the tankini is The One, capitals mandatory.
She heads out for breakfast (breakfast is when you 'break your fast', so whatever time the first meal of the day is, it can be referred to as 'breakfast'), and for a split second, debates whether or not to remain in the cafeteria to eat it. The sight of the Norse contingent just behind one low wall, and the Japanese pair (brothers, weren't they?) on the other side of the room, further down towards the end, renders the thought pointless, and she heads outside to the little patio.
The food is decent enough, considering it came from a school cafeteria (is she drawing from her school memories, or has Zeus just copied the servings from a school on Earth?), and surrounded by what feels like a Mediterranean atmosphere, which makes complete sense once she thinks about it twice, and the relatively high ivy-walls, it's kind of like a slice of paradise in this…this mental Hell. It's a paradise, don't get her wrong, but it's Hell at the same time.
A lesson to learn to take the good with the bad?
The intrusion, as she's finishing off her vodka-orange, might be unbidden, but it's not unwelcome, as Dionysus slides out from between the ivy, greeting her with a smile…in his school uniform, or at least the version of it that he normally wears.
Has he not ordered himself any casual clothes yet?
In fact, thinking about it...has she ever seen him in anything but his uniform? There was-…noooo, he'd just left his jacket somewhere else. Or how about when-…no, he'd just tied the jacket around his waist then. Huh. He really didn't like wearing the jacket, did he?
"So, did you get your swimming attire yet then?" He asks, returning with a plate…of grapes.
"Yup," she answers, reaching across to pluck a grape from his plate, tossing it into her mouth. "I think you'll like it," she continues with a grin. "How about you? Did you find one?"
"It covers the essentials," he responds, a grin of his own on his face, before he cocks his head. "Barely."
"'Barely'?" She leans back into her seat, eyeing the grinning boy…man…god…figment of her imagination. "Now I really can't wait for this 'beach school'."
神々の悪戯
Author's Note 08/06/18: I apologise for how long it's been since this story was updated. I could make excuses, such as how I've just finished my second year of uni, and work, and other RL problems, but the truth is…
You remember the note at the end of the last chapter, where I mentioned the multi-story epic crossover. Let's just say there's a lot of planning involved, especially with timelines and the like, and then I ended up watching an anime because it gets recommended to me *cough*YuriOnIce!*cough* and-
Well, let's just say that the initial draft for that part of the story is well over 100k words at the moment, and the first draft still isn't finished.
Hopefully my writing style hasn't changed too much from all those years ago (seriously, my last update for this story was in October 2015? How are people still reading and reviewing this story?!), but I'm planning on rewatching KnA and completing at least a few chapters this summer, fingers crossed.
As always, ConCrit and/or Flames, with a decent explanation as to why people.