Nico "The Phantom Diviner" di Angelo (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fell_to_hell) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
eachdraidh2014-07-15 05:20 am
fell_to_hell) wrote in eachdraidh2014-07-15 05:20 am
Memory - Seelie and Unseelie
[The "scene" opens up to the ruins of an ancient Roman town. The roads are being taken over by moss and other plantlife, while the buildings' remains are scattered here and there. It's silent for the most part, clearly abandoned, but there are two voices that sound like they're next to where the "cameraman" is. One voice, to those who know him, is Jason Grace's, while the other is a stranger's. The stranger sounds light and cheerful, a person who might be easygoing and easy to like. The "camera," however, doesn't look at them.
"Welcome to Salona," the stranger says, "Capital of Dalmatia! Birthplace of Diocletian! But before that, long before that, it was the home of Cupid."
At 'Cupid,' it strangely echoes, as if voices are carrying the name all over the ruins of a once-big town. The voices of the stranger and Jason become almost muffled at this point, as if the person who is experiencing this isn't paying a whole lot of attention to their conversation. They chat briefly about how Cupid isn't anything like what most people think of him as. The viewer suddenly leans back, as if getting support from something solid. His gaze is at his feet, giving a perfect view of the grass at his feet, and of his badly shaking legs.
"Hey, man," Jason says, trailing off somewhat as he's waved away. The grass suddenly starts turning brown and wilting at the feet of the viewer, and it only continues moving outward.
"Ah," the stranger gets his attention for once, and is caught in the middle of nodding sympathetically. The odd thing about the appearance of this young man is the pair of wings attached to his back. "I don't blame you for being nervous, Nico di Angelo. Do you know how I ended up serving Cupid?"
"I don't serve anyone," the viewer - Nico - mutters, "Especially not Cupid."
The stranger - Favonius or Zephyrus, the god of the West Wind - continues speaking. He tells of how he fell in love with a man named Hyacinthus, and how he'd been jealous of Apollo. So jealous, in fact, that he'd killed Hyacinthus. He'd fled from Apollo's wrath by seeking protection from Cupid - or Eros. In exchange for this protection, Cupid asked for the West Wind to serve under him for all eternity, and the West Wind had agreed.
The name 'Cupid' echoes again, this time more insistently.
"That would be my cue." Favonius stands, having sat down in the middle of the conversation. "Think long and hard about how you proceed, Nico di Angelo. You cannot lie to Cupid. If you let your anger rule you...well, your fate will be even sadder than mine."
He disappears in a swirl of red and gold, leaving Jason and Nico in the ruins of the ancient Roman city. The ground shakes, obviously not Nico's doing as both demigods draw their weapons. Then, a voice speaks to them. Not a pleasant one, either. Nothing at all like what people might think of Cupid. It's deep and rich, but there's threat in it.
You come to claim the scepter.
Nico looks around, but Cupid is nowhere in sight. Jason and Cupid have a very brief exchange before the son of Jupiter is is suddenly slammed into by an invisible force. He goes down a set of stairs and sprawls on the floor of the excavated Roman basement. Nico scrambles down after Jason, asking if he's okay while helping him up to his feet.
The god of love laughs at them for thinking he'd play fair. He's never fair.
Abruptly, an arrow materializes from thin air and makes its supposedly deadly way toward Nico. Jason deflects it with his sword, and the pair rush up the steps, dodging what cupid throws at them. A second arrow explodes into white-hot flames at Nico's feet at one point, and Jason manages to get a hit on the God of Love. Jason asks if it means they can get what they've come here for - this 'scepter' - but Cupid only laughs. The only one who can wield it is a child of the Underworld, and the only one who can command those undead soldiers is an officer of Rome.
"Just leave it to us," Jason says, "Nico can summon--"
A third arrow hits its mark. Nico gasps as it sinks into his sword arm, stumbling as it dissolves into him.
"Enough games!" Nico shouts, his voice a mingling of anger and pain, "Show yourself!"
The god warns them that it's a costly thing to look upon his face, as Psyche can tell them. He tells a synopsis of her story, of how she'd beheld his face while he slept despite being warned never to do so. She'd feared he was a monster, and had been punished by Aphrodite most severely. Eventually, Psyche earned the right to be by Cupid's side, though it had come at such suffering on her part.
Suddenly, Jason thrusts his sword into the sky, and lightning lances down to blast a crater where he thinks Cupid is standing. There's silence for a pregnant moment, until Cupid taunts them and a column almost falls on Jason.
"Stop it!" Nico yells, "It's me you want. Leave him alone!"
Surprisingly, the god agrees at this, and sounds oddly disappointed at Nico. He asks what Nico has done in his name.
"I've been to Tartarus and back," the demigod snarls back, "You don't scare me."
I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.
Things get a little hazy here. The only thing remembered clearly are the words spoken. Jason asks Nico what on earth Cupid wants from him, while Cupid urges him to tell Jason the reason he fled Camp Half-blood. Why he's always alone.
Will you hide among the dead, as you always do? The god taunts.
It gets very blurry here, as if Nico is remembering something else in this memory. Other memories that tie into this one, but can't be viewed.
"Nico," Jason manages to get out, "It's okay. I get it."
"No, you don't," he says, voice full of pain and misery, "There's no way you can understand."
And so you run away again. Cupid chides. From your friends, from yourself.
"I don't have friends!" Nico yells at Cupid, "I left Camp Half-Blood because I don't belong! I'll never belong!"
When next he speaks, his voice becomes like broken glass.
"I--I wasn't in love with Annabeth."
"You were jealous of her," Jason says, "That's why you didn't want to be around her. Especially why you didn't want to be around...him. It makes total sense."
The fight and denial rush out of the defeated demigod all at once.
"I hated myself. I hated Percy Jackson," Nico says. Now, Cupid materializes, a young man with snow white wings, straight black hair, and wearing a simple white frock and jeans. His eyes are as red as blood, and his face is handsome and harsh. He's as difficult to look at as a spotlight.
"I had a crush on Percy," he spits, glaring at Cupid, "That's the truth. That's the big secret. Happy now?"
Now, for the first time since Cupid's arrival, he looks sympathetic. "Oh, I wouldn't say Love always makes you happy." His voice sounds much more human, now. "Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you've faced it now. That's the only way to conquer me."
Cupid dissolves, as does the memory.]
[For anybody trying to look for him in Caer Glaem, it's already too late. Nico is gone, along with his belongings and Clifford the Hellhound. Attempting to reach him by the locket will only get radio silence. While he might make a couple exceptions, it won't be to talk about this. Never this. He can't....]
{OOC: Dialogue and everything is from the House of Hades by Rick Riordan.}
"Welcome to Salona," the stranger says, "Capital of Dalmatia! Birthplace of Diocletian! But before that, long before that, it was the home of Cupid."
At 'Cupid,' it strangely echoes, as if voices are carrying the name all over the ruins of a once-big town. The voices of the stranger and Jason become almost muffled at this point, as if the person who is experiencing this isn't paying a whole lot of attention to their conversation. They chat briefly about how Cupid isn't anything like what most people think of him as. The viewer suddenly leans back, as if getting support from something solid. His gaze is at his feet, giving a perfect view of the grass at his feet, and of his badly shaking legs.
"Hey, man," Jason says, trailing off somewhat as he's waved away. The grass suddenly starts turning brown and wilting at the feet of the viewer, and it only continues moving outward.
"Ah," the stranger gets his attention for once, and is caught in the middle of nodding sympathetically. The odd thing about the appearance of this young man is the pair of wings attached to his back. "I don't blame you for being nervous, Nico di Angelo. Do you know how I ended up serving Cupid?"
"I don't serve anyone," the viewer - Nico - mutters, "Especially not Cupid."
The stranger - Favonius or Zephyrus, the god of the West Wind - continues speaking. He tells of how he fell in love with a man named Hyacinthus, and how he'd been jealous of Apollo. So jealous, in fact, that he'd killed Hyacinthus. He'd fled from Apollo's wrath by seeking protection from Cupid - or Eros. In exchange for this protection, Cupid asked for the West Wind to serve under him for all eternity, and the West Wind had agreed.
The name 'Cupid' echoes again, this time more insistently.
"That would be my cue." Favonius stands, having sat down in the middle of the conversation. "Think long and hard about how you proceed, Nico di Angelo. You cannot lie to Cupid. If you let your anger rule you...well, your fate will be even sadder than mine."
He disappears in a swirl of red and gold, leaving Jason and Nico in the ruins of the ancient Roman city. The ground shakes, obviously not Nico's doing as both demigods draw their weapons. Then, a voice speaks to them. Not a pleasant one, either. Nothing at all like what people might think of Cupid. It's deep and rich, but there's threat in it.
You come to claim the scepter.
Nico looks around, but Cupid is nowhere in sight. Jason and Cupid have a very brief exchange before the son of Jupiter is is suddenly slammed into by an invisible force. He goes down a set of stairs and sprawls on the floor of the excavated Roman basement. Nico scrambles down after Jason, asking if he's okay while helping him up to his feet.
The god of love laughs at them for thinking he'd play fair. He's never fair.
Abruptly, an arrow materializes from thin air and makes its supposedly deadly way toward Nico. Jason deflects it with his sword, and the pair rush up the steps, dodging what cupid throws at them. A second arrow explodes into white-hot flames at Nico's feet at one point, and Jason manages to get a hit on the God of Love. Jason asks if it means they can get what they've come here for - this 'scepter' - but Cupid only laughs. The only one who can wield it is a child of the Underworld, and the only one who can command those undead soldiers is an officer of Rome.
"Just leave it to us," Jason says, "Nico can summon--"
A third arrow hits its mark. Nico gasps as it sinks into his sword arm, stumbling as it dissolves into him.
"Enough games!" Nico shouts, his voice a mingling of anger and pain, "Show yourself!"
The god warns them that it's a costly thing to look upon his face, as Psyche can tell them. He tells a synopsis of her story, of how she'd beheld his face while he slept despite being warned never to do so. She'd feared he was a monster, and had been punished by Aphrodite most severely. Eventually, Psyche earned the right to be by Cupid's side, though it had come at such suffering on her part.
Suddenly, Jason thrusts his sword into the sky, and lightning lances down to blast a crater where he thinks Cupid is standing. There's silence for a pregnant moment, until Cupid taunts them and a column almost falls on Jason.
"Stop it!" Nico yells, "It's me you want. Leave him alone!"
Surprisingly, the god agrees at this, and sounds oddly disappointed at Nico. He asks what Nico has done in his name.
"I've been to Tartarus and back," the demigod snarls back, "You don't scare me."
I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.
Things get a little hazy here. The only thing remembered clearly are the words spoken. Jason asks Nico what on earth Cupid wants from him, while Cupid urges him to tell Jason the reason he fled Camp Half-blood. Why he's always alone.
Will you hide among the dead, as you always do? The god taunts.
It gets very blurry here, as if Nico is remembering something else in this memory. Other memories that tie into this one, but can't be viewed.
"Nico," Jason manages to get out, "It's okay. I get it."
"No, you don't," he says, voice full of pain and misery, "There's no way you can understand."
And so you run away again. Cupid chides. From your friends, from yourself.
"I don't have friends!" Nico yells at Cupid, "I left Camp Half-Blood because I don't belong! I'll never belong!"
When next he speaks, his voice becomes like broken glass.
"I--I wasn't in love with Annabeth."
"You were jealous of her," Jason says, "That's why you didn't want to be around her. Especially why you didn't want to be around...him. It makes total sense."
The fight and denial rush out of the defeated demigod all at once.
"I hated myself. I hated Percy Jackson," Nico says. Now, Cupid materializes, a young man with snow white wings, straight black hair, and wearing a simple white frock and jeans. His eyes are as red as blood, and his face is handsome and harsh. He's as difficult to look at as a spotlight.
"I had a crush on Percy," he spits, glaring at Cupid, "That's the truth. That's the big secret. Happy now?"
Now, for the first time since Cupid's arrival, he looks sympathetic. "Oh, I wouldn't say Love always makes you happy." His voice sounds much more human, now. "Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you've faced it now. That's the only way to conquer me."
Cupid dissolves, as does the memory.]
[For anybody trying to look for him in Caer Glaem, it's already too late. Nico is gone, along with his belongings and Clifford the Hellhound. Attempting to reach him by the locket will only get radio silence. While he might make a couple exceptions, it won't be to talk about this. Never this. He can't....]
{OOC: Dialogue and everything is from the House of Hades by Rick Riordan.}