deercountry | 13 . autumn catch-all

[ Even though Nico has heard a lot from Palamedes, he doesn't exactly see John as an enemy. Sketchy as hell, maybe, but after all he's been through does know there are two sides to every story. They've only spoken once, briefly through text. He doubts it was super memorable other than a couple of key things considering everything else happening that on that post. ]

Sounds about right for the month of All Hallows' Eve. No matter what they call it here. [ The teen fixes his gaze on John. ] Personally, I've been waiting for you to show off your new House salute this month. Seems both fitting and thrilling.

[ He cracks a smile, at this, startled into amusement: right, he'd liked this kid. ]

We're working on the routine. Just wait. It truly is the season.

[ One of the only people who wasn't yelling at him, except about his dance moves. ]

I'll keep my eyes peeled.

[ Nico pulls out the new item from his pocket, tilting it, so John can see the details. ]

So, woke up with this in my pocket and didn't have it before. Guessing we'll need it on our hike somehow.

[ He fishes out the dragon, and offers it on an open palm. Nico can be the one to put their trinket together; John can be the one along for the ride. Not much of a peace offering, but not nothing. ]

And I've got the other half. Seems about right.

[ A dragon, huh? He reaches out with his other hand to take the offered piece and sets to work putting it together. Working with Viktor has taught him how to work with this kind of stuff. ]

Let's hope it leads us out of here, then. [ Nico takes a step, and it begins to glow leading them in a direction. ]

Can I ask you some things? [ The question is more curious than accusation filled. ] You can ask some in return.

[ Teenager on a long and boring walk; John can't imagine being able to stop him. He falls into step at Nico's side, a half-pace behind. ]

Shoot.

[ Surprisingly, Nico is used to being around gods and goddesses - he can hold his curiosity. Piss one of them off and bad things happen. So if there's a question he doesn't want to answer, then Nico won't force it. ]

Were you always able to do necromancy?

[ That's where he's starting. ]

Edited 2022-10-07 02:00 (UTC)

[ It's a good one to start with. John tips his head, considering his answer. Pine needles crunch under his feet. ]

No. The world I came from, way back before everything, nobody had necromancy. I was the first to learn it.

[ These trees are thick, so are the shadows from them - the compass glowing brightly in his hand in comparison. Maybe people would be nervous or unsettled to be out here with John Gaius, but not Nico.

There is a pause, in case the man wants to ask anything in return. ]

That probably freaked everybody. Was it hard? Having to learn it without anyone to guide you?

I had a guide.

[ He seems to go more still, as they walk; more faraway, tone softer. ]

A companion, anyway. A friend. She didn't know what she was doing, and neither did I... It was a weird time. It was a bad time, honestly. When others came along who could do what I did, I was the first teacher. [ He splays his hands like ta-da. ] Hence the name.

[ Nico takes in the words, trying to imagine being the first. It was already hard to be the latest in a long line, so being one of the first who had to teach others sounds like a very daunting task. ]

I can kind of imagine how a bad of a time. [ He had a teacher for some of it, but had to work the rest of it out on his own - never had to teach anyone either. Of course he knows that somewhere in there, a lot of people died. ] Were you ever scared of your new power?

[ There's a deeper meaning in his words, something more personal. ]

[ He huffs a breath that is almost a laugh. There's no real humor in it. ]

All the time.

[ He runs a hand back through his hair. ]

And for good reason, you know? I fucked up with it a lot. I wasted so much time throwing weight around and guessing wrong. All the usual.

[ Honestly, it's kind of nice knowing that. Palamedes always seemed pretty confident when it came to this, a guiding light, but it was paved with the fuck-ups of people that came before him. ]

Yeah, I get that. I fucked up too a few times. Still young so there's room for more. [ A soft sigh. ] That turned depressing.

[ Calling himself out on it. ] Can you just bring back humans?

Hey, cheer up. I'm old as dirt and I keep finding new ways.

[ Ha ha. It's a bitter smile, all the same. ]

Necromancy isn't humans-only. You should see my horse.

[ It's a dead Nightmare: the spookiest unicorn. ]

Pretty sure dirt is older than ten thousand years old, and a hell of a lot crankier.

[ Yeah, hey. This is a kid who has come really close to an Earth deity. ]

Wasn't sure. I've never fully brought anyone back, the price isn't cheap. Okay, I haven't brought anyone back without cheating. Haven't ever tried with an animal.

[ He's not sure if there's some kind of cost for that, so never tried. ]

Sure, maybe it'll be the only animal that's not scared of me.

[ Muttered, as an aside or an in-joke: ]

Much crankier.

[ But this next bit draws him up short. John knows that resurrection isn't only his purview, now— he got into a whole fight with the ocean about it— but to have some teen in the woods tell him he knows the price is enough to put a hitch in his step, a quiet startle. ]

Cheating. [ He turns that over in his mouth, like he'll be able to find the cracks in it. His gaze upon Nico is slow and assessing. They're a few questions deep, now: he takes his due. ] What price was asked, and what did you pay?

[ Nico raises an eyebrow at that, but will let it go. A question for another time.

It seems his words caught the God's attention, and he looks up at the man. Whether the price is the same across multiverses, he doesn't know - but bringing someone back... that's not like bringing a new life into the world.

This isn't new information that he's telling, it's just new to John. ] A life for a life, but I was talked out of doing it. Later, I walked into the afterlife and looked for the soul I wanted while the guard was tied up. Only she had moved on, went to be reincarnated. Found another one that I took out, so I cheated and there was no price. The god in charge never collected, probably because we're his kids.

[ Nico considers John for a moment. Idly wondering if that is why the God went and pissed of Mariana, if he was trying to get someone's soul. ] Don't think that exact tactic would work here, but I did summon the soul of a Sleeper who had died.

[ He actually settles as Nico tells it, soothed by the inane differences of universe. A life for a life would be a tidy way to do things; an afterlife you can walk into, with guards you can distract, bears no resemblance to the River at all. Gods, plural, is always a trip to hear. ]

Equivalent exchange, [ mutters God, again like it's funny. ] If only.

[ Still: he looks at Nico differently, now, on hearing he's the kid of a god. With open interest. To that speculation he tips his head in a half-shrug, but zeroes in on the one thing he has not himself managed to do: ]

Did you pull them out of the ocean?

[ Everyone knows his beef with the ocean, by now. ]

[ There's a lot he knows about John's universe, though some of it may only be known to the God and his closest few. He has wondered if there was some power behind the River, an unseen being, like with the rivers of the Underworld. ]

Do you use thanergy like the other necromancers in your world, or pull from some other source? [ Nico would believe it if he did, one doesn't become God without being different from everyone else.

The teen isn't surprised to be looked at in that way. There are quite a few differences between the way he does things and the people of some alternate, future universe. ]

His soul, yeah. I was kind of able to track it from afar, and there's a cave in the deepest part of the sea where it went. There was a strange sensation, like a dream-like feeling of being close to home. I summoned his ghost while it was in the cave, and tried when he left - only to find I couldn't.

Bit of both. [ He appreciates the question; it's a good one, shows knowledge of the basics. John tips his head in thought as they walk. ] I use thanergy like everyone else, but I don't have to source it externally... no dipping into bones, no grabbing local deaths. I mean, I can, but I don't need it. That's small potatoes, you know?

[ What he finds much more interesting is the idea that this kid has dipped further than him into the local afterlife. John looks at him in frank, open surprise, and then nearly-incredulous attention. ]

You've been to the cave? Or you were working at range from the surface?

[ Nico hums in understanding at the answer. He has asked Palamedes a lot of questions about how it works for him, so it makes sense that John can do more. ] Makes sense. Wouldn't be the God of it if your powers worked like everyone else's. Can you turn someone living into a ghost and banish them to the River? Like.... without the physical act of destroying their body.

[ It's a very specific question, he knows, but can't help asking it anyway. Dark eyes look up at John, a small shake of his head to the first question. ]

At range. I can sense the souls of the people I'm closest to, no matter the distance. Mostly, I can sense when they die and... I guess one way to explain it is, if they're at the bottom of the River, I can pick up on their specific souls even through all the others and layers in between.

What, yank the soul out and yeet it somewhere else? [ every time God says yeet a hundred religious scholars scramble to write that down. the Nine Houses is a silly place. ] Sure. There's not much point to a body without a soul, though... you just have a really detailed puppet to keep alive.

[ And then you get other fun problems like possession, but that's not for the Necromancy 101 class. He exhales a slow breath and rocks back on his heels a moment: he's impressed. ]

Makes sense. [ Should be literally impossible for anyone but him, maybe Cassie at her best, back before they lost her. Good to know how his local competition stacks up. ] I can do the same, give or take some details... think of me more as a high-powered generalist. Jack-of-all trades, but I'm always losing the signal for the noise. Love to see the finesse.

How did the summoning go? Your guy have anything interesting to say?

[ A ten thousand-year-old God just said yeet - not even Nico does that, and he's a teen in the 21st century. ] Not exactly. More like turning his whole being into nothing but a shadow, body and all.

[ There was no body left for any kind of possession or puppetry. Everything was transformed and sent to the Underworld.

They play by different rules, though John's own abilities seem more in line with his own in comparison to Palamedes'. ] Got it. From what I know so far, you seem to be on the same level as my dad, just without all of the others deities to get in your way.

Mostly just confirming what I felt, he was kind of like a drifting thing - not quite all there and unable to grasp everything happening around him in the cave.

[ He tips his head in acknowledgment, agreement. He can't turn anybody to shadow, but he can appreciate the style. ]

We should collaborate some time. I'd love to see how you work... and maybe Mariana won't start slinging monsters at me for stepping foot on the beach, if I come along as your backup.

[ He means it, though not as demurely as he says it. John does want to understand the shape of things, here, and it's impossible to trace specific Sleeper souls once they're too deeply swallowed in the jumble. He can't conceptualize their fate without running into the gaps in his knowledge.

But there's one soul in particular he needs to understand. And there's a lot he could do once he learns to bridge the gap. ]

[ Nico doesn't technically remember doing it, just losing control of himself and hearing the story from his friends. ]

Sure, I'd be interested in seeing some of your work up close, too. Relationships between gods are more complicated than god and demigod, but I could try to help with that.

[ After all, he didn't simply just try to stroll into Mariana's domain without some sort of permission first. If John's never dealt with other gods, it could have been seen as an invasion to try to go in without some sort of communication.

A lot of people are angry at John, maybe they have the right to be. But to Nico, everyone fucks up, even gods. ]

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necrolord - 2022-11-25 18:40 (UTC) - Expand

13 . autumn catch-all

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cw: NtN spoilers likely

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cw: NtN spoilers but also deeply unreliable narrator

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wish i fuckin knew

tell us all Jod's powers!

tazmuir please explain

perhaps in AtN, which is too far away

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