PC: Nico di Angelo

[rizomata]

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[rizomata]

... Yeah. Yeah, it sure has --

[ well, too late to avoid it, here come the comic panels with a memory. ]

[resumed]

[ i'm sorry i asked because now i'm just sad.

anyway, so there are comic panels and nico groans exasperatedly because why!!! but then he seems to realize they aren't his. (yet.) instead, he's staring with wide eyes as he's going through the motions, reading through the comic, and a few things click into place.

namely, a lot about why rita is the way she is.

when he hits the end of it, he pauses for just long enough to process what he's seen before he looks back at her. ]

...you know. I don't think I blame you. [ for shutting everyone out after that, because that's such a violation of trust he has zero idea how else you'd react to that. ]

[rizomata]

[ he looks at her, and she glances away. ]

... Yeah?

[resumed]

Yeah. You do what you have to do to protect yourself. [ when you're on your own...who else is going to look after you? ] There's nothing wrong with that.

[rizomata]

I guess...

It wasn't until about a year ago that I started actually... talking to people again. Spending time with them. Or whatever.

[resumed]

[ he does not say "me too" because this is about rita at the moment. so instead, he's listening. ]

The people you were traveling with, I assume. [ hm... ] What changed your mind about it? Letting people in a little more, I mean.

[rizomata]

I didn't really choose to. It's just that one day, a bunch of idiots broke into my house and started accusing me of a crime I didn't commit. I was going to blast them to bits and hand whatever was left to the guards, but I had an ongoing project I needed a hand with, so instead I brought them along to make use of them.

... and I started to realize that there were certain things in the world that couldn't be learned from books.

[resumed]

[ he also would not blame her for that, but that's murder so never mind. ]

Sounds like they owed you at least that much for barging in unannounced. What'd they even think you did to begin with? [ maybe that doesn't matter much. rather, he's just...humming in agreement. ]

Guess it doesn't hurt that books can't really talk back. For better or worse.

[rizomata]

They thought I was a blastia thief, of all things.

I made a name for myself with my research, but since I never showed my face, some asshole got the idea that he could go around calling himself "Mordio" to scam people. After I cleared my name, I made sure he got what was coming to him.

[resumed]

You. Who's been studying blastia since you were a kid. [ okay like that's fair, they didn't know, but come on. ] What is with people going around and stealing your stuff?

[ but there's an approving nod. ]

Hopefully "what was coming to him" means you absolutely kicked his ass.

[rizomata]

Of course.

[ ty gimme a mem. ]

[resumed]

Then that's what matters. [ i was gonna give you a matching tone one because sometimes your mentors really do just manipulate the shit out of you, but the story's disjointed so instead, panels appear. ]

[rizomata]

[ oh... man.

rita's never known that kind of grief, that kind of loss. and she really doesn't know any of the right words to say to someone who has. so it takes a while before she says anything. ]

... Was that when some of your powers awakened?

[resumed]

[ well. this was a choice, and he's a little frozen as he looks at the panels before there's a quiet, resigned sigh. ]

Yeah. It was the first time that happened, and I had no idea what to do. So I ran away from camp and didn't go back.

[rizomata]

[ well. that's kind of relatable. ]

Where did you go?

[resumed]

For a while, I was living in the forest outside of camp. And then the Underworld for a while...that's where Minos found me and started teaching me how to use my powers. He said that if I learned how to control them and could trade a soul for a soul, I could bring Bianca back. So he taught me a lot of what I know now.

[rizomata]

You can't... do that, can you? Trade a soul for a soul?

[ is that a thing??? ]

[resumed]

You're not supposed to, really. [ which doesn't quite answer her question. ] And in the end I didn't. I released Daedalus's soul and sent him to the Underworld, and I banished Minos to go back to my father's court.

[rizomata]

That's...


... You really are capable of some incredible stuff, aren't you?

[ it's starting to sink in a little. what it means to be a demigod. ]

[resumed]

[ there's an awkward smile. ]

Yeah, you could say that. [ it's not even a brag, it's just "yeah i guess that would be a correct assumption." ] Children of the Big Three tend to be more powerful than others, but...I'm still learning everything else I can actually do. Sort of feels like I find new ways to use my powers all the time.

[rizomata]

The Big Three?

[resumed]

Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. They're the gods of the sky, the sea, and the dead. They're also the most powerful of the Olympians.

[rizomata]

[ her eyes widen. ]

I've heard those names before... but... huh?

[ not from will, evidently. ]

[resumed]

[ help. he's also just staring at her with wide eyes for a second. ]

Huh what? [ oceanside has been a test in finding out who does and doesn't know about these things, evidently. ]

[rizomata]

I've seen them come up in texts I've read from ancient civilizations... It seems too specific to be a coincidence, but I don't know what else it would be.