video / seelie & unseelie

[oursavinggrace]

[hello, magic locket network. have a blond teen with a curious little scar at the corner of his mouth, currently seated in front of his locket with as much ease as if it were a computer. probably more than if it were a computer, to be quite honest -- he's never used a computer in his life, but he's pretty damn used to more supernatural methods of communication. at least this is way simpler than talking through rainbows.]

Hey, I'm Jason. I've told a few people about this whole exploration trip my own group was working on, so I figured I might as well give an update on how that's going.

[and behind him, over his shoulder, is luke, with his back to jason as he holds his own locket up to take in the height of the trees they linger beneath. in the background one can hear:] This is what you'd call a tree, La Rue —

[for the observant viewer, the area they're currently taking a breather in certainly isn't caer glaem or the immediately surrounding areas. it's a forest, sure, but even through the locket it's clearly unusual, the trees all awe-inspiringly enormous. their camp is little more than a few bags dropped off at the base of a gigantic trunk. three bags, to be specific, but gods know where the third member of their little party's gone off to.]

We've bounced around a lot but I think we've covered a pretty decent spread of this place so far. Compared everything to the maps we found and all that. I think so far it's safe to say that those are all pretty accurate. Those worms have been all over too, so I don't think that's a concentrated incident...

[luke's disappeared from the background, but his voice is loud as he stands in front of jason. (not that anyone can see him, but they can hear him loud and clear).] And Grace is choosing to talk to his locket than take in the scenery. C'mon, Grace. Wave for La Rue. You Ares kids always miss out on the whackiest stuff.

[jason, for his part, makes a valiant effort to keep a straight face and be the serious, responsible one here. he can't hep but crack a hint of a smile though, and he raises a hand slightly to indulge luke. and not that anyone can see, but luke wanders off to crane his neck so high to look at the canopy that it almost snaps.]

All that aside, it'd be good to hear how things are going back at the castle too, and maybe in the Unseelie place if any of you guys are feeling particularly talkative.

((ooc: blue is jason, orange is luke, replies are likely to be hijacked by luke (and nico) if they feel like it.))

Comments

[oursavinggrace]

[he manages to keep up that point for a few moments longer before it slips into something of a self-deprecating smile.]

I wish I could say I wasn't used to it already.

[maybe he should take more offense. but anything that gets nico to laugh must be good, even if it's at jason's own expense.]

[fell_to_hell]

At least it's not another pun on your name. That got old after the first time.

[Nico shakes his head, back under control now.]

Prison wouldn't have been the first thing that came to mind. Dog, maybe. The expression on your face was very dog-like.

[oursavinggrace]

You only had to hear that a few times. I grew up with it.

[so many "grace" puns. so many.]

But really, dog? It should at least be wolf, after those years with Lupa.

[fell_to_hell]

And I've never been so thankful. Although, now I kind of want to see what would happen if someone tried that with Thalia.

[Oh, that'll be entertaining. He might ask her to showcase that.]

Maybe a half-breed. You're more like a golden retriever than a wolf most of the time.

[Big dopey grin on his face when he fetches a stick. Nico can see that happening too clearly.]

[oursavinggrace]

Then you're a skittish cat.

[hissing and darting off into the shadows the moment anyone comes near you. yup.]

[fell_to_hell]

[Nico bristles. ...Which only gives credit to Jason's point. Not that he cares.]

At least the cat will escape the ASPCA and live to fight another day.

[oursavinggrace]

[he is very visibly restraining a laugh at that display. no need to annoy nico further, of course, just...gods, kid. you make jason want to follow through with the bell idea really badly.]

Yeah, while hiding under the porch because it refuses to just come inside. At least the dog doesn't hide from the people just trying to give it food and a warm place to sleep.

[metaphors.]

[fell_to_hell]

[Jason might want to try that when they're at Social Link Rank 5+.]

That's because the dog is too trusting and affectionate for his own good.

[oursavinggrace]

That's what people like about dogs. They're open about how they feel and don't distrust people unless they have a good reason not to.

[he knows better than to let this continue getting too personal, though, so he'll give nico an escape opportunity.]

You're not really a dog person, are you?

[fell_to_hell]

[He pauses, giving Jason a suspicious look at the question. Eventually, he sighs.]

Dogs and most animals hate me, Grace, because they sense death on me. The only dogs who don't are Mrs. O'Leary and Cerberus.

[Nico will let the son of Jupiter think whatever he wants about that information.]

[oursavinggrace]

[not surprising that the kid barely trusts people when even animals avoid him. jason frowns pensively for a moment but eventually just shrugs, aiming for lighthearted again.]

At least that's better than nothing, right? Besides, I'm pretty sure there are plenty of mortal kids who would love a dog big enough to ride like a horse.

[he never really had that desire, but then, he sort of was raised by a wolf of that size.]

[fell_to_hell]

[Nico is pretty sure that if Demeter and her allies weren't so sore over the whole Persephone thing, the plants would avoid him, too. He snorts.]

She's not even my dog. You should ask her owner about that.

[Gonna casually change the topic to a different dog.]

Cerberus is harder to play with because of his size. Rubber balls you find in a Petco just don't cut it for the Guardian of the Underworld.

[oursavinggrace]

[he will follow that subject change like a loyal dog because let's face it, percy is pretty much the most dangerous topic where nico is concerned.]

You could just use a dodgeball or something?

[fell_to_hell]

[He gives Jason an eloquently exasperated look.]

Even that's not big enough for Cerberus. It'd still get shredded and stuck in his teeth.

[oursavinggrace]

[well excuse you mr. dog trainer extraordinaire.]

I've never gotten to take the Underworld tour, so I wouldn't know. An exercise ball?

[fell_to_hell]

[Nico regrets nothing.]

He's twice the size of a woolly mammoth and a purebred rottweiler. Does that help you?

[oursavinggrace]

...Well, I've never seen a woolly mammoth either.

[he's just giving you shit now.]

[fell_to_hell]

[omg]

Bigger than a breadbox, but smaller than Luke's ego.

[Totally deadpan.]

I didn't go down to the Underworld with a tape measure to give you exactly how tall Cerberus is. He's enormous and no ball has yet been made for a dog his size.

[oursavinggrace]

[that actually drew a chuckle. you're on a roll today bro.]

You could reread some Clifford to get ideas for giant dog toys.

[fell_to_hell]

[Sometimes, he feels like making a joke. Okay, more like rarely nowadays, but still.

Jason gets a blank look.]

Do I want to know who--or what--'Clifford' is?

[oursavinggrace]

[he'd be offended by your ignorance of such important things if he didn't already know you have a good excuse for it.]

Clifford the Big Red Dog? I guess that's a bit after your time. Or...before?

[it's certainly something that he knows this shit, given he grew up with wolves and then in a roman legion. he's probably the most out of the loop after nico and hazel.]

[fell_to_hell]

[Jason's loopy alright. It also says something that a bit of Nico's natural curiosity is piquing at this.]

After, most likely. I've never even heard of that. What is it?

[oursavinggrace]

It's a kids' book series about...well, a big red dog. It's pretty self-explanatory, really.

[once they get home (and they will, he's sure of it), he's gonna make it his job to introduce nico to all the pop culture he's missed.]

[fell_to_hell]

How did that get popular?

[A beat before rolling his eyes at his own stupid question.]

In all fairness, I guess it got popular the same way Winnie the Pooh did.

[His tone doesn't suggest anything bad about Winnie, at least.]

[oursavinggrace]

How do you know Winnie the Pooh but not Clifford?

[in his defense, dyslexic roman soldier children don't generally get these things the moment they come out. his sense of timelines of childhood icons is pretty jumbled.]