A flicker of doubt... [Veritas and Andy]

He could sense his closeness to it now, the Demi-God Academy had to be around here somewhere. He had traveled for so long, he decided to stop, setting down his pack next to a tree. He took his place at its base, sitting down to relax a bit from his long walk. He took his dagger from his belt and tossed it up, catching it, tossing it again, and catching it again. It was a rythmic pace he kept, one that let his mind wander. He breathed deeply, taking in some fresh air. He looked to his pack, wondering if he should put a shirt on before entering the Academy. He thought his was logical, but for the moment, he let nature's wind touch his chest. Nature seemed to seep into him, comforting him and bringing himself thoughts of home. Bored, he tossed his dagger up and it stuck in a branch of the tree. He looked up at it, then, to get his blood flowing just a bit, he jumped up and climbed the tree, not exactly gracefully, but with a bit of strenght, it seemed effortless. e grabbed his dagger and then dropped back down to his seat on the forest floor. He settled with just tossing and catching it, now that his heart was pumping a bit. His heart beat was like the beat of a drum and he fell into it.

Leander glided through the forest mostly cloaked in shadow. He wasn’t much more than a whisper, a presence that sent the animals skittering into their homes. He wasn’t an angry being though. Quite the contrary, Leander had found what he was looking for and the life he was searching for had been taken. Being the god of all things in between Leander had not allowed the spirit of the assassin to pass into the underworld without first warning his father that he could rid the world of Hades himself if need be and that the consequences of those that tried to hurt his beloved were devastating.

His steps grew swifter as he made his way through the forest, he was so close to Ramsey that it almost hurt him to not have her in his sight. A dull thud resonated through the forest and he realized he was not alone. Stretching his presence he found the source. A Son of Apollo he thought and glided over watching as the young man threw a dagger in the air and time after time caught it with extraordinary ease. no time to waste. I must see Ramsey and relieve her of her duties Leander counted the steps it took him to make it back to his soul.

The rythm of his heartbeat was slowing again. He once again threw the dagger into the above branch, climbed the tree, retrieved it, and dropped back down. His heartbeat was back to a better, more rythmic pace, like the drums of his home. It was the sound of his heart, metaphoric and literal. Nothing was as peaceful to him as the sounds and smells of his home. He took another deep breath, and caught only the faintest scent in the air. He paused only slightly to listen. when he heard nothing, he continued his dagger-catching, still wary of the feeling that someone was there. He kept his wrist moving, ready to change where he threw his dagger should an enemy approach.

Andy stepped quietly through the forest, her well worn boots didn’t make much of a scuffle on the grassy padded floor. “Where could he be.” she whispered quietly to herself. Leander hadn’t told her much more about the stranger than the fact that he seemed like he was just looking for the academy. She could hear a rhythmic sound, something that kept such a steady pace that it seemed both belonging to and out of place with the trees. She slunk quietly through the trees, their branches and trunks were getting closer.

Without even realizing it she had put herself in a vulnerable position, right in the center of a ring of trees. The beating stopped and she snapped her head around where the space was left empty. Before she had any time to really react she saw the stranger, but mostly she saw his arm cocked back before letting something fly towards her. Almost as if in slow motion Andy saw the dagger spinning through the air and dodged it gracefully sliding out of the way. When it was a few inches from her she reached out and caught the thing perfectly out of the air from the hilt and charged the man producing her own dagger from the inside of her boot in mid stride.

With that savage grace of hers he advanced on him quickly and with a sweeping kick to the legs she sent the guy crashing to the floor flat on his back. Quickly she kneeled down putting her knee to his chest with a snarl on her lips and the points of both daggers on either side of his throat. “Why have you come?” she demanded.

Veritas found himself on his back looking up at a dark-haired woman, her lips a snarl. He took a moment to catch his breath from being knocked back. She had moved so quickly, he had not the time to react. He gazed at her for a bit, looking at her. She had a certain power to her, and it wasn't just from her skill. Her knee on his chest tried to force his lungs to give out more air than they had. With the last of his air, he said his name. "Veritas," he breathed, keeping as still as possible, knowing that this woman could kill him in a heartbeat.

She looked down at him finally taking a chance to actually take him in. When he said his name she cocked her head to one side. An enemy would have tried to get out from under her already but this Veritas had his arms stretched from him in defeat. She guessed he was unarmed apart from his repossessed dagger and he seemed like if she didn’t get off of him soon he’d black out from all the wind that had been knocked out of him. Although she was still cautious she removed herself from over him and stood up to survey the man as he stood and coughed what little air she hadn’t managed to force from him. She hated to admit it and she hardly ever thought this about anyone but he was beautiful. “You still haven’t answered my question Veritas. Son of..” she dropped off waiting for him to finish for her.

When she moved off of him, he stood cautiously, coughing. Once he had his breath back, he stayed silent for a couple of seconds. His heart was in full rhythm, beating fast. He relished the feeling, though he felt the slight blow from her still. The pain didn't mean that much to him. He had felt it before. He looked to her, this time, seeing more than the power, more than the force. She stood tall, very confident in herself and her abilities. She still held his dagger along with her own. He found a small thought in his mind telling him what he didn't allow himself to think very often, "She looks amazing..." He bowed slightly in her direction. "Son of Apollo," he finished for her. "I have come to join the Academy. I was just taking a breath out here for a bit. I have traveled far." He took another deep breath to fill his lungs properly. She sure had knocked the wind out of him.

“Apollo” she scoffed. “If you’re anything like his nephew then I suggest you stay away from me starting now.” Andromeda took a step closer as he stood, then another and another cautiously advancing before she started walking circles around him sizing him up. Veritas DID smell of some faraway place. She could almost taste where he’d been just from the scents that seemed to be a natural part of his skin. Ashes of sweet wooded trees, smoky afternoons spent in gardens, spice racks and sunshine. Andy had traveled to many places before having landed in the academy but she had never known a place that brought back smells like these. Maybe it wasn’t a singular place but a mixture of things, a history of sorts told through the olfactory sense.

For all she knew this man had been brought forth from a world she didn’t know, a tribal world that existed within her own but unacknowledged. With a start she realized she was still walking circles around him and stopped, she had inhaled so much of the air around him and had circled so many times that she had descended into a vaguely dizzy state. She shook her head from the clouds and said “Where exactly have these travels taken you?”

He remained still, standing strong, but not quite as confident as the woman he watched. She circled him, sizing him up, using whatever she could take in to analize him. He didn't turn, but his eyes followed her, her graceful and powerful form, her elegance of power. Even among her movements, he sensed the hunter's instinct, the fighter's pride. Some part of him was intimidated by her, already knowing she could kill him from experience. Another part of him, and this part was larger, he found was intrigued. He had to stop those thoughts though. His memories and experiences jumped at him, screaming warnings. If she can smack you down that quickly in combat, just imagine how quickly she can take down your heart. You've been used too often. Check your scars! He glanced down once at his hip, the top of a knarled scar only just showing from the top of his waistline. To think the truth, of all things, would take him so far down. He didn't want to consider the fainter, softer ones on his back. He looked back to the woman, circling him. Finally, she stopped. Her balance seemed to teeter just slightly for a second, but it passed so quickly he thought he could've imagined it. She inquired further. "I have seen the origins of all elements," Veritas said. "I have been traveling sporadically for twenty seven years. I have gone far, but have yet found a suitable place to settle long-term. I was hoping... to find one..." He trailed off. He had only just realized he was rambling again. He had a tendancy to do so when he was at risk, spilling as much as he could. He looked to his dagger in her hand. For some reason, it seemed more capable in hers than his own.

Andromeda frowned slightly moving to stand behind him, anyone else would have moved to face her thinking her scrutinizing as something strange but Veritas seemed to stay still. “If you feel like you have more to say you should speak son of Apollo. Otherwise you won’t get what you want out of this life.” She remembered smiled slightly at the hypocrisy of the statement, she never demanded anything she wanted from him but here she was urging someone else to do what she wouldn’t. Realizing her own fault she changed the subject. “Well, hopefully this place will be to your liking, I have found it preferable to aimless travel but that’s just me. Perhaps it will be the people here who will be to your liking. I’ll take you to the academy if you’d like.” she stepped in front of him again then threw his dagger in the air and caught the tip of the blade before handing it to him hilt first, if he tried anything on her she could take him down in a heartbeat. She started walking but then turned around with a grin and a finger to his bare chest. “I think you should don a tunic first good sir.”

"...you won't get what you want out of this life." Her words rang in his head and he reflected on them. For so long, he had wondered how such a thing was possible. For him, it seemed it was not. The more he spoke, the more troubles seemed to come his way, despite the common beliefs. No. He could never get what he wanted in life, especially not that way. She paused slightly, seeming to think of her own words. She then spoke again. That is strange... The first person I meet here shows both hostility and respect... I wonder what the rest of the place is like. She finally stopped in front of him, flipping his dagger in the air and offering it to him by the handle. He accepted it and sheathed it back at his waist. She turned to lead, looking back to him, pointing to his bare chest. He looked down again, almost as if to realise again his lack of a tunic. She didn't seem to mind much. He was thankful of that. He, on the other hand, had to only slightly pull his eyes off of her form to go to his pack by the tree. He dug not too deep to find one of his only two tunics and slipped it on. It was a generic leather-brown. He then slipped on his pack and turned to follow her. There was a slight pause in his steps. "Oh. Umm... I never caught..." He paused slightly. If she wanted him to know who she was, wouldn't she have said? He thought back to her words and thought again. "May I ask your name?"

Andromeda didn’t turn when he asked her name. Names had never been of much importance to her, Andromeda herself had been named to mean “warrior” and nothing more, her father would never completely accept her use of his name at the end of her own so what use was it then if she could not present herself as a Daughter of Ares? “You may ask,” she paused. This was one thing she deemed a fine quality in the boy, he didn’t fill every silence with senseless chatter. “but…” she continued, “whether I answer is another matter entirely.”

One of the only things her father had ever bothered to teach her were that names were things of power, you would never be able to forget the person if you had the name and sometimes all you’d want to do was forget the people who hurt you. She realized it was true. Even if she never saw Veritas again after this day his face would be imprinted in her mind, the very smell of him was still under her nose. “I am feeling generous today though. I am Andromeda Daughter of Ares.” she said the last part defiantly hoping her father was listening but knowing he most likely was not. She looked over her shoulder at him. “Shall we go then?” as she turned and started walking again something rare happened. She smiled.

"Andromeda..." he repeated lightly. Putting a name to her face felt nice, as it did every time. It was a proud name, one that fit her well... well... to an extent. Something about it was also somewhat separate from her. He watched her form as she turned to lead him again. He smiled and followed. Well, now I know the name of at least one person in this place. Let's see if I can learn another before I run into trouble. His thoughts went back to his recent place of residence. It was a little town with barely anything there, but of course there would be some girl... and some guy... The memory almost tripped him, despite his more graceful movements. Things had been going well, until that brute, Troy, found out about his unfortunate curse. Forced to tell all in front of Kaylie, he had no choice but to leave. It was always at the peak of the moments in his life that his inheritance destroyed everything. I am so glad you haven't visited in a long time, Father. All you have ever done is ruined things for me. He nearly tripped again, then gathered his steps and focused more on his feet. He had to try not to break open his nose in front of the first person he met. What a fool he would look. You're tripping up a lot, Veritas. Get a hold of yourself. Stay focused. He looked up and realized that Andromeda was getting further and further ahead. He picked up his pace and thought only about running.

Vance, clothed in only a pair of tattered shorts and shoes, was running through the forest, his eyes squinting against the dim daylight. Talk about Hell...Hades can have me any day if I could get out of the daylight. He sheilded his eyes and stopped running, standing under a heavy tree that provided a relitively dense shadow. Teying to get used to this day is killing me he thought, sleepily. He sunk down along the tree trunk, his eyes growing heavy. Suddenly he heard noise, he bolted upright, pulling a dagger from his belt and hiding behind the tree. He listened closely to hear the noise was coming from his right. Which meant they were headed to the school. He raised an eyebrow and decided to stay hidden, they might be friendly but he wasn't.

She heard him repeat her name but turned away, his mind must have been occupied as his steps grew slower until he was almost to far away for his dizzying scent to reach her. Andromeda slid to a silent stop slowing her long strides until they were non-existent. Veritas almost ran into her back but she held a hand out to steady him and kept it there then turned around and put a finger to her lips signaling she wanted quiet. There was no doubt in her mind that she’d heard what she did. It was the unmistakable sound of a blade sliding out of the sheath. “so many encounters in one day” she thought to herself. It made her angrier still that her father had left her virtually weaponless, the dagger being her only defense from the large array she was used to carrying.

“Was someone else accompanying you Son of Apollo?” even before he answered she knew the answer was no. “Would you lend me a blade Veritas?” she held out a hand expectantly, who knew what was out there, whoever it was had a weapon and she wasn’t taking any chances.

Nearly running into her, Veritas had to refocus himself. Her alert posture kept him silent as he listened to the forest, trying to hear whatever it was that set her off. He did feel a strange other presence, though. When she asked, he handed her his dagger. Once again, it was in more capable hands than his own. He watched her careful movements, then turned to look out at the forest himself. A strange feeling came on the back of his neck. Something was definately out there. "I'm going up," he told Andromeda. Wanting a better view, and hoping to find out what it was out there, he jumped quickly to the nearest tree, pulling himself near effortlessly up into the branches, barely making a disturbance in the tree. He had always worked well with nature. Moving swiftly through the branches, he made his way a bit away from Andromeda and looked around. He found nothing, but he thought he heard a bit more movement farther back with Andromeda. She's probably moving to find out who is out here, he thought. He brought his mind back to his own search. Suddenly, he heard a noise coming almost from directly below him. It startled him and he shifted on the branch, just enough that it could no longer bear his weight and it snapped. He fell to the ground, his back landing on the branch. His eyes flashed with color and his back in pain. AH! Hades! Damn it! Fool! He thought to himself and his sudden inexplicable clumsiness.

Vance looked down at the lying form before him. He yawned and pulled the guy up by his collar, inspecting him before dropping him again. "Apollo..." he whispered to himself. He spat on the ground. "That name makes me sick. Who are you? Hmm...?" he said in a half-sneering, half-arrogant voice. He rolled up his sleeves as he heard noise coming in the direction to his right as it was before. "Another?" he asked himself. He turned, expecting a woman who might be his sister or his companion, but was met by one very striking, eye-catching woman. He immeadiately sheathed his weapon. They weren't going to harm him, they were students at the school, like him. The school forbade fighting unless it was on campus-regulated fields. Vance raised an eyebrow. "Hello." he said with a silky voice. "Does this..." he gestured to the ground vaguely, "...belong to you?"

She almost told Veritas not to go up there but anymore noise would give away her already compromised position. She stared up into the tree as Veritas disappeared, easily prancing unto the branch of a neighboring tree. She softened her stride until she was walking noiselessly on her toes. Andromeda had put herself at a good throwing distance still unseen by the stranger when the branch snapped and sent Veritas tumbling to the floor. She jogged the rest of the distance but almost fell over when she saw who had caused the disturbance. His look made her feel so exposed it scared her. Not even her father, battle scarred and promising death had been able to do that to her, make her want to take off in the other direction. The warrior in her didn’t let it go on for long though and when he put away her weapon it made her angry. Did he think she wasn’t a threat? That she’d follow school rules and leave it all be? That he could bully Veritas because of the blood that coursed through his veins?

She threw one dagger in his direction, it grazed his arm enough to rip the sleeve of his shirt and impale itself in the trunk of the tree behind him. “You’ll help him up and apologize if you know what’s good for you. The next one will be more around this area” she bared her neck and tapped the tip of Veritas’s dagger to her pale flesh showing him that the last one had been intentionally harmless. Andromeda had been object of affections for many pretenders and she could almost see the notches surely and arrogantly marked on his belt. The way he’d switched from disgust towards Veritas to completely suave around her only helped her case that much more.

Veritas struggled to pick himself up, but his dislocated right arm and his burning spine prevented him from shifting too much. Suddenly, he was lifted in the air and scrutinized by a man with a Hades-may-care look and the hate of Tartarus in his eyes. He dropped Veritas, who landed (thankfully) on his left, opposite his injured arm. Veritas groaned and shook off the stars still floating around his head. When asked who he was, he didn't want to answer. It's guys like this who would tear me apart, should they find out... He heard Andromeda's approach and the man's response. The thud of the dagger embedding itself in a tree was unmistakeable. Andromeda's threat was surprising, and refreshing. Her behavior before didn't seem to be an act. He used his left arm to help prop himself up so he wasn't lying helplessly on the ground. His back strained from the movement, but at least he wasn't using his dislocated arm.

Vance didn't stifle the dark chuckle at the girl. He walked over, pulled the dagger out of the tree and examined it. Without looking up he simply said, "I don't apologize." he flipped the dagger a few times before leaning against the tree, "And it's nice to meet you too," he said with a slight smile at her. "Seems a woman like you could keep better company than that..." he nodded toward the man on the ground. "Which reminds me, I still don't think I've caught either of you names," he stated, raising an eyebrow. "Not that his matters..." he added. Vance walked with a lazy lope over to the girl, returning the knife to her, blade pointed toward himself. Leaning in so his sweet breath tickled her face he looked deeply into her eyes and challenged, "Slice open my neck, I dare you."

Andy knew he wouldn’t help Veritas up and he flinched every time he moved. He must have hurt himself in the fall, badly bruised or dislocated some part of him. She helped him up carefully, it was his right arm that pained him and she did her best to pull him up to a standing position by his left. Then she turned to face the newcomer again making sure Veritas stayed behind her. He was in no position to fight. “I keep whatever company I so please and I doubt someone such as yourself has ever been any good to linger around. At least we can agree that names are of little importance, therefore I will not offer mine.”

Then he did something unexpected. He got nearer to her, so close it made her want to back away. People were usually so predictable but this pair had her reeling in what she thought she had known. As much as she wanted to step away to put some distance between them she knew Veritas was right behind her and that devilish look in his eye made her think that even if she did step back he would follow. The demand he made was stated in all honesty, he was being serious and somehow that angered her again. There was too much in one day and she was finding it hard to control her fiery temper. She snatched the dagger from him and put it to his neck slowly slicing a neat line right through his skin, it was just deep enough to spill blood but not enough for him to die of it. She stopped right before his adams apple and angrily brought it down nicking yet another piece of his neck. “Your blood isn’t worth my troubles” she spat and turned on her heel leaving the almost perfect right angle imprinted into the side of his throat.

The venom and seriousness of the two others was almost frightening to Veritas. He knew that, if he had been in better condition, fighting them would still give them a challenge, but he knew both would probably beat him with time. "You've never been able to truly defend yourself, have you, Ver?" Veritas looked upward, knowing that voice. It seemed he didn't feel like showing himself this time.
...Father...
Veritas blacked out, slumping in Andromeda's helpful grip. His mind was leaving him, so much that any trace of life aside from breathing and pulse left with it, including the feel of the god Apollo in his blood. His consiousness found itself standing on a cloud, his father's light before him. How cliché, he thought. Couldn't his father lay down the artistic theatrics for once? He looked up at his father's godly form. "Why do you bug me now, Father?" he asked, uncaringly.
"I have come to ask if your-"
"Yes, yes, I still have to tell the truth, I still can't verbally tell a lie. Why do you keep asking me that? Do you think it's jsut going to go away one day? Well, it's not."
Apollo crossed his arms and looked at his son. "Must you always speak to me this way, Veritas?"
"Yes, I must. Now get whatever you wanted to say over with before I lose all interest and find a way back to consiousness myself." Veritas's anger was flaring. His father never showed any care for him except what one might show a lab rat. He looked for any way out of his father's attention he could, but he was always pulled back in.
Apollo frowned. "Very well. If you do not wish to hear my warnings, then begone! Do not shout at me when your bloodline gets you killed."
Veritas was confused, and suddenly he was back in his body, signs of life returning, as well as the pain in his shoulder and back. He shook a bit, weak from his father's conversation, as speaking like that to him always drained him.
He looked up, not really focusing on who it was above him, and his eyes rolled back. He turned on his side, away from the person and was sick. Nausea was also one of the symptoms.

Vance was surprised that she actually spilt his blood. His face didnt show it, but he WAS in fact, faintly surprised. Not caring that there was a mild trickle of blood creepind down his chest he noticed the other man completely black out. He took the time to say, "Hmm...Alright Nameless, you've got some fire in you, I'd love to see you use it productively..." he said in a suggestive tone. He watched her as the other man was only out for a few seconds, but when he came to Vance stared with contempt and laughed when he was sick to his stomach. "A broken arm and bruised side is hardly enough to make one black out...what a weakling." he said, not even mildly caring that the man was hurt. Vance's hate for all those related to Apollo had removed alll feeling but apathy for his actions. He began to walk away. "Well Nameless and Worthless, I suppose I'll be seeing you some time soon." he said, silkily.

As much as she hated the way this boy was acting, his arrogant nature, his expectancy that everyone in the clearing was just waiting to hang off his every word, added to how much she regretted that he was heading off in the same direction she had to go to get back on school grounds. It was the only way to help Veritas who was barely coming too. What from exactly she wasn’t sure. Andy pulled her dagger from its hiding place again and knelt down to cut a long cloth from the fabric of her skirt. Swiftly and quietly she wrapped it around Vers arm and tied it at his neck in a makeshift sling. Then she helped Veritas up. “I’m not allowed on the boys side. she called to the strangers receding form. She tried not to put her attention somewhere other than the perfect V of his back and his lithe figure as he continued forward. “As much of a pain as you are I’ll have to ask you to help this man to his room.” then she offered Verities a small, rare smile. “Hang in there.”

The fowl taste still at his mouth, Veritas tried to bring himself to focus. He found Andromeda's face, a faint smile he swore he imagined. His head was still spinning, but his stomach was settling and his senses were returning fully. Unfortunately this also meant the pain was returning. What is wrong with you, Veritas? he thought to himself. Look what tripping over your own feet gets you. He heard Andromeda's request from the arrogant jerk walking away. Not wanting anything to do with him, he shook his head. "Don't worry," he said to her, "I can make my way back on-" His voice cut off and his vision blanked fully to white. His whole head swam worse than when he returned from his father's conversation. He cursed himself. I cannot lie... I cannot lie... He revised his sentence and his vision returned, his headache slowing to a dull throb. "I can try to make my way back on my own." He moved to stand, ignoring the weakness in his body, fighting it, but losing. His knees gave in and he fell again.