Daydreaming in the Library

" Breaking through the lines, these was no hope left for those soldiers. It was just a matter of time, by now. How much to the dead end ? Hours ? Minutes ? Neither. They've been fighting for eighteen days already. They couldn't carry it anymore. Days and nights dying, Death veiling the battlefield with her cold yet tender embrace.

Faceless soldiers from the Boar and the Eagle facing eachother, staring with a blatant indifference in the nothingness.

No. That was a lie. All this mess was a lie. A holy fucking mess.

<< Gloria Fortis Miles,
Adversor et Admorsus ! >>

The Boar against the Eagle. A mere company against an army. What's left to us ?

<< Gloria Fortis Miles,
Adversor et Admorsus ! >>

Fear. Fear and Despair. Our guts trembling, our eyes dried out of tears. We hold our ground. We fought hard. All alone. We followed our orders. The borders closing in. We did what's right.

Once they tried to took prisonners. What a disappointment. She could only imagine. What happened ? Insanity ran through their veins. We stood alone. The only thing we could grip on. We surprise them with a grin. We've seen hell and came back. We told them with a laugh.

<< Gloria Fortis Miles,
Adversor et Admorsus ! >>

We laughed so hard, so hard. We went deaf, we went blind, and then we're laughing at their faces.

Madness didn't lie in our foes' heart. Madness conquered everything.
Madness could cover anything."

And there, you, you stood, holding this thin book in your right hand. Meanwhile, the left one taped the bookshelf cracking of history tome. History of war was such an intriguant, complex and beautiful matter to study. A sigh escaped from you lips. Maybe you'll teach that, in twenty years... If the world doesn't explode under internet and ponies pressure, that would be great. Like, really, Humanity ? Or then... just leave France and travel around without a coin, like some centuries ago... That, that could be fun.

A little smile crossed your lips. The Great Library was drowned in a comfortable silence. It was sunny outside, insufferable kids stayed in gardens and parks, freshness was flowing between the rows. Yes. Today would be a good day. What's more to ask for, indeed ?

Once again, he wanted to leave the Mount Olympus, just for a few hours. He didn't know, perhaps he just wished to see mortals because he was nostalgic of when he was just a demigod. He loved humans, looking at them on the journey, in Paris, when they didn't care about the things around them and just walked through the crowd because they 'don't have time'. Parisians were always in a rush, as they had to do everthing in the same day.

The god was looking at them, little ants in the streets, when he felt another god, but... a fallen one. Curious, he went down to Earth, taking an human body, and went looking for this god.

Finally, he arrived at a library. Zephios looked at the enter with, maybe, apprehension, because he had never gone to a library before. He didn't like books, he was a bit dyslexic when he was mortal, so he had never opened a book before. Then he shruged and entered.

There, he immediately went to the god he was feeling.

Oh, no. Not the god. It was a goddness. A gorgeous one. With glasses, a serious face and gray eyes.

"Athena", he thought.

She was known for her intelligence and all her skills. She must have been a dangerous foe, and Zephios wasn't up to face her, but he still moved toward her, not necessarily to be seen by her, but just to look at what she did.

(omg sorry if I made mistakes I'm not really good at english and... anyway.)

( Don't worry my friend, both of us are making and will make mistakes. But let's learn together from it, deal ? '▼' Gonna be fun. Light and entertaining. No headache, roleplay only. )

As your eyes read those lines, your mind was flying back in times. You could hear them. You could fear their pain, their anger. Their hopes. If there was something that haven't changed through, that would be it. War. War never changes. Your smile shorten by a glimpse. You fougt back then. Memories flash in a instant. You remember a face, a glance. What was her name, again ? Ah, yes.
Miss Gylamesh. Cassandra Gylamesh. An interesting human being. Or saying so, divine being. As your few words were exchanged, you know... Oh, how you knew ! She would be a formidable foe to battle against... Or allie to fight by.

Speaking of allies and foes, something seems to tick your senses. What were you risking for looking up at whoever would try to upset you, heh ? Nothing. After all, weren't the Mighty, the Glorious One, First of His Childr- Oh. Oh, really ? Him ?
Yep, him. Snowy luxurious hair, spare braids adorning nonchalantly his immaculate mane, bringing out the curious spark in those deeppurple eyes. Slowly, you began to frown. Was he staring at you, right now ? Seems like he really was. Haem. Looking closely, although being one of the New Olympus, you notice his neutral demeanor. Was it a good sign ? Feeling that time will tell you soon enough, closing you nod to him.
What can I do for you, half-brother ?
A straight enquiry for a straight encounter. You weren't asking much after all. It was an unique opportunity for you to discuss with one of Olympus's current rulers... And maybe, why not, gather some informations about their assets and weaknesses.

(Deal! Yeh, you're right, I guess you're often right ahaha. :3)

She looked at him. Slowly. Taking time to examine the god. Would she flee from him, or would she stay and talk? She frowned. Did she know him? It was normal for the new gods to know the fallen, but conversely? Waiting for her reaction, Zephios didn’t do anything aggressive, he just stayed there, watching her.

“What can I do for you, half-brother?”

He smiled kindly. He didn’t find any animosity in her voice or in her behavior, so he got more relaxed. Anyhow, he could neutralize this fallen goddess as he killed a bug. But to compare an insect to Athena was not really flattering, furthermore Zephios had a lot of respect for her.

He studied to know all the fallen gods, and he obviously knew Athena, even if she lost her powers, still had her strategic-mind. If she talked to him, she would have something else in the back of her mind, so Zephios had to be vigilant.

But first he stayed relaxed and didn’t come closer to Athena, to let her a security perimeter. And, everybody knew that Zephios was not the perfect god to be vigilant all the time. She may utilize this flaw against him?

“Nothing special, half-sister. I wasn’t far from here when I felt your aura. What do you become?”

This question was not really kind, knowing Athena was relegated to the rank of a simple mortal, but the god was also known for being extremely tactless. Not really funny for his interlocutors.

Then his face became a bit darker and he asked, before she answered :

“Are you in contact with Hera?”

Zephios was also an impetuous person, I didn’t told you that?

( Knowledge with experience... My seniority matters here. I'm one of the oldest behind the screen here... except Arès, maybe..? Damn. The older I get, the heavier the burden get either. '-' )

A simple courtesy visit ? Did he really think such a fooling excuse would work on you ? Sadly for you, his sincerity almost hurt your ears. Altough your smile got kind, your eyes stayed sharp. His relaxing features were more than enough for you to bite back a subtle smirk. As you suspected, youth and a carefree life must have lead him, if not the whole pack above, to a unconcern of their own weakness. Point taken for and the Old Ones. You won't be mistaken twice.

To be honest, his first question slightly disappointed you. So, you're telling me even in those high spheres as the Olympus, there was no spy smart enough to keep a keen eye on you and the Fallens ? What an interesting thing to know about. Didn't I told that would be a good day ? The second question raised a slight smile to your face.
I must admit that I'm surprised by your request... May I know why you're sometimes lurking around her orphanage, above all ? Not that I mind much about her, but you never know... Accidents happen so fast; it's better to be safe than sorry, don't you think ?
Ouch. If she was near, you would probably end up with a wild whack behind the head... If she dared lay a single finger on you... Well, Paris would be the first-hand witness of a Third World War. Of course, that would be pretty useless of her. By the time, she should know that you're specialized in telling lies in order to get right at the truth. Watching over Héra's place is kind of a top priority for you, Alyssa living there with quite an amount of young half-gods and godesses.

(3h25 du matin, je ne me relis plus, mes yeux sont mourrus mais j'espère pas trop t'perdre dans ma bouillie outremanchienne. x) )

(Nope c'est très bon tout ça. Mais quelle idée d'écrire à 3h25 du matin ?)

Ouch, her eyes were like knifes and seemed to want to pierce Zephios, who didn’t worry about this. He still knew he was stronger than Athena in this case. Fortunately for him, or he’d be dead.

“I must admit that I'm surprised by your request... May I know why you're sometimes lurking around her orphanage, above all ? Not that I mind much about her, but you never know... Accidents happen so fast; it's better to be safe than sorry, don't you think ?”

He looked at her, a bit irate. So she saw him, sometimes, but she hung back, like she always did, wasn’t she? And Zephios was reckless, as always, even if he sometimes felt a strange presence, not far from him, when he was in Paris. He thought it was a monster, but a fallen god?

“I don’t think a goddess without any powers can ask questions like this.”

He grimaced. What if he exploded in front of Athena, and attracted some monsters of gods? Alania would kill him, consort or not. A god didn’t have to stand out in the mortal world. Nowhere, in fact. He sighed and made himself calmer. Plus, Athena would use his feelings against him, so it wasn’t a good idea to show what he felt.

“Well, accidents happen fast, it’s true. And maybe, they’re not accident, but incidents.”

Then he smiled innocently to Athena and light wind came into the library, making the pages of the book Athena held turn slowly. The goddess could take this as a threat, while Zephios looked at her in her gray eyes.

( Je suis plus active de nuit, mais certains matins je dois me lever beaucoup plus tôt. C'compliqué. x) )

You clap tightly the book, holding it between you slender but agile fingers. The air stood still for a few seconds, more than enough to let you compose yourself. His recklessness, his arrogance, his own self-esteem may lead him to a certain death... But as you're eyeing him closely, something comes to your mind. Seems like he was wearing his overwhelming confidence like an old patched cloak. A shifting old patched coat, wrapped around his ignorant and versatile mind. And this exact instantm the only one you can think about is your father' The same as his's.
Your faint smile turns out in a lazy grin, your features relaxing slightly. Even with this, plus his pretty loudmouth, think that he could impress you would only show how bad mannered he was.

_ You asked me something, my question was its answer. Mad about it ? Blame yourself and don't act childish toward me. Both of us are grownups divine being. You should know that I don't need my powers to behead a mortal coil like yours. Those gusts of yours won't be of any help. That, that would be an unfortunate incident. But i'm not here to fight.

Whatever way he would react to that, you couldn't care less. Boohoo, poor little Wind God, his big sis' was playing fool with him. fun to imagine it this way... Haem. Back to the story. He must be thankful for your mercy... 'cause recently, you found out again how grateful it was to stab something with a stick or a spear. Maybe beheading would bring some good ol' memories back ? The time is long past when we could chop off some skulls and make it look like a suicide. Oh dear. You miss Russia.

Atleat, you can confirm that he does wander around for some reason... Hm ? Thrust Héra's words ? Yes, of course you do. But sometimes, it's better to cross your sources. Well, let's bring down the little nervousness. Trigger his wrath is far from being a good idea.

_ Nowadays I'm a teacher at Leon Blum High School. And yes, from times to times, I go there and share little of my knowledge while playing chest with a few orphans. And you ? Don't tell me you just sit on Father's throne and twiddle your thumbs all day long...