#d:victoriacyrus

[godlyborn]

wins & losses.

date: january 31, 2021 characters: cyrus rooke, victoria brant, & cora weidemann summary: the final installment trigger warnings: mention of blood (indicated where it is)

Victoria hiked up the hill, the waterfall next to her. "Jesus Christ, how many fucking waterfalls are in this place. It's so damn confusing. Vic turned to look at Cyrus. "Crooke, you coming or did you get your foot stuck in the mud again?"

Cyrus kept glancing over at the falls and it wasn't lost on him how beautiful the scenery around him actually was, but because he was sent here by Hecate... He absolutely hated it. He seethed as he trekked up to their destination. He couldn't stop thinking about how fucked up he let things get. He wasn't brought back to focus on reality until Victoria asked him about the mud. "I'm comin', I'm comin'," Crooke hid a heavy frown and kicked his right combat boot again to see if he could get some more mud off it. He then swiftly joined her up ahead. "I was fuckin' zonin' out," He explained and shook his head. "Sorry," He quickly added and looked up ahead. "How much farther until the next one we can check?" He asked.

“Could tell,” Victoria responded. “I think it’s just up this hill. Fuck, it’s kinda steep. There’s no way she didn’t put it here. It’s definitely here just to spite us,” Victoria said.

"It's gotta be this one. If it's not behind this one, then I'm gonna flip out," Cyrus admitted and sounded annoyed and rightfully so. He kept trekking along. "Nah, she didn't know we were coming. She probably just chose the most menial and irritating quest she could think up off the top of her head," He sighed and when it came upon the next bigger fall, he gestured to it. "—Is that the one?" He double-checked.

Vic nodded. "Looks like there could be something behind there," she replied. "Okay, just before we do this, if something weird happens, just protect yourself, okay? I know we've come all this way for this, but it is not worth losing our lives over. Especially yours, I don't know what I would do. I need you to look after yourself too, because I need you Cyrus." Vic took a moment to sigh, turning her eyes back to the waterfall. "Now that that's over." She looked around for anyone so that she could use her magic. "You don't see anyone right?"

Cyrus was fidgety and frowned at her when she warned him about protecting himself. "Toria, stop," He quipped back but only because it hurt to hear and think about the possibility of her getting hurt because of a situation he put her in. "If something happens and things get tense, I'll look out for myself," He lied but tried to assure her anyways. He glanced around and looked for any signs of other people. "Nobody's around," When he didn't see anyone, he focused on the falls again too. "You're good to go."

Victoria cast the spell, letting the water split so the two could get into the cave behind the waterfall. "Ladies first," she said, looking at Cyrus with a smirk.

Crooke was too hyperfocused on the task at hand, watching the water split, that he couldn't come up with a funny retort. He entered into the space behind the falls, a place others probably never got the chance to see. It was a cooler temperature under there and he glanced around again, only this time for a tablet and that's when he saw four of them sitting in display-like positions almost as if they were at a museum but without the glass protecting them. He began walking up to them and clenched his fists down by his sides. "Fuck, she really wasn't lying about picking the right one," He sighed. "I hate this.." He complained. "Which one do you think it is?"

Victoria followed Cyrus shortly after, letting the water fall once they were in the cave. She looked around, her eyes settling at the tablets before them. She read the Latin on them. "I don't know, the latin on them kind of makes no sense. She really made it hard for someone to take these," she mentioned. "I know a spell that may reveal it. It's worth a shot if you want me to use it?"

"If you don't think you'll exhaust yourself, y'know, usin' magic like this, this much, then," He spoke about all the things she'd been doing to help him through this. He stepped to the side and gestured widely out to the stone tablets. "—Do what you gotta do."

Victoria cast the spell, but her magic was no match for her mother's magic. Victoria could feel herself wear herself out, and she got dizzy for a moment. Vic held onto Cyrus for a moment to keep her balance, breaking the concentration of the spell. She shook her head. "I'm either not doing it right, or Hecate's magic is blocking."

Crooke helped support Victoria when she needed it. He shook his head and huffed in annoyance. "Fuck, fuck," He expressed and then let go of Vic after checking if she could stand on her own. "Okay, well, shit, we gotta take them all then..." He said and started collecting the stone tablets. He stacked them on top of one another after taking them from their places. Once that was achieved he turned to look at Victoria. "All right, let's get the fuck outta here?" He suggested.

"You can say that again," Victoria replied. As they started their way toward the waterfall again, Victoria was ready to perform the spell when she could hear the growling of dogs outside, but she knew better. She knew that it was most likely hellhounds. When they picked up the tablets, they most likely triggered something that sent hellhounds here to defend Hecate's items. Fuck, Hecate. Victoria held out her arm to stop Cyrus from moving forward. "You hear that?" she asked.

The growling of what sounded like dogs met his ears and he instantly looked down and checked the trinket that was hooked to one of his twin daggers. He'd stopped moving. The charm was glowing bright which signalled that monsters were near. "Shit," He exhaled. "—It's hellhounds," He confirmed without even having to see the monsters for himself. "Fuck, they sound close," He didn't want to say his next words but he was preparing for the worst. "...We're gonna fight?" He asked.

Victoria looked at him. “Yes we’re going to fight, what do you think we’re going to do? Let them just eat us or something?”

"Fuck no, I meant, we could try and run?" He gripped one of his daggers in his hands and the other cradled the tablets. "But, let's take 'em out." He said and gestured his head to the waterfall to signal to Victoria that he was ready to head out of the cave and face their opponents. "I'm ready."

Victoria nodded at him. "Cover me for a minute?" she asked. Victoria took a deep breath, before muttering the spell to split the waterfall so they could exit the cave, hoping not to be overpowered by hellhounds right away.

Cyrus moved to stand right next to the waterfall and, when it split in half, he rushed out and was ready for anything. He heard the growls again, but this time much, much closer. He turned and saw a hellhound only a few feet away. There was a few trailing behind. Crooke ran to meet it and dipped own into a low attack so he could slice at the hound's legs. When his attack landed, the dog yelped and recoiled as Cyrus tumbled away.

Victoria soon followed Cyrus out of the cave. He beat her to one fo the hellhounds, and she quickly unsheathed one of her daggers. When the hellhound lunged again after Cyrus' attack. She sliced at his throat, the hellhound soon turning to gold dust. Victoria looked behind her shoulder at Cyrus now, watching another lunge at him. Victoria said a quick spell, sending the hellhound tumbling back. "Run, now?"

With the hellhound he had attacked now gold dust by his side, Cyrus was thankful for Victoria even more-so than he was before. He prepared for another quick lunge out of the way of the next oncoming hellhound. But, Victoria cast it away with magic and much to his approval. He nodded at her question. "Yes, let's go." He said quickly and picked himself up. He surveyed the state of the tablets in his hand, began sprinting away and up the falls, away from the monsters that we're still on their heels.

Victoria sprinted side by side with Cyrus, but the hellhounds were catching up to them, and fast. Victoria, unsheathed another one her throwing knives, knowing she could sacrifice this one. She whipped it at one of the hellhounds, piercing it's body, it sticking within the hellhound's chest. It stumbled back before turning to dust.

The falls were tricky enough to navigate before finding the cave. Now that they had hellhounds on their heels and Crooke had one arm cradling a few stone tablets, it was much more difficult. He felt relieved that another hound had burst into dust but that relief was temporary as he lost his footing on the rocks and they gave way under him. He lunged to the side but it was futile as he lost hold of the tablets. They were sent flying and he was brought to the ground by gravity. "Fuck!" Crooke yelped and immediately had to roll out of the way of a oncoming hellhound. Luckily, he still had one of his daggers in his hand. He fought off a hellhound and turned it to gold dust. He then stood up and desperately looked for Victoria.

"No!" Victoria screamed as she watched Cyrus tripped and the tablets went flying. As Cyrus fought off the hellhound that caught up to him, Victoria dove to catch the tablets. She slid near the cliff of the waterfall, she would not let these tablets disappear, her and Cyrus have come so far. She managed to catch one, but the other three fell down and into the water. She winced slightly from the impact of diving for them.

In the moment of quiet between one attack and the next, several more hellhounds appeared from the shadows. They took advantage of how distracted the demigods were and lept forward, teeth bared and claws out. Before they could even reach Cyrus and Victoria, though, arrows soared from the treetops, landing neatly in one, then the next and the next. Little puffs of gold dust sparkled in the air as Cora dropped neatly out of a tree, her bow at the ready. She glanced toward Cyrus, flashed a smile and waved as she jogged closer. "Helloooo! I'm here to help you! Go find those tablets, yeah?" she shouted airily, then pulled at an arrow in her quiver and took aim at the next monster.

Cyrus was surprised to see somebody emerge from the tree top and drop down into the fray. He was thankful for the fact she took down so many of these pesky hellhounds. He nodded at Cora and took off to the edge of the falls where Victoria was at. Once he looked over the edge, searching for the tablets, he realized that he couldn't see any that of the tablets that fell over. "What the fuck, I can't see any of 'em." He complained loudly and with force and then looked at Toria. This was when he then realized she was holding one of them. "—What the hell are you doin'?" He asked and shook his head angrily and like he couldn't believe it. "You're not supposed to touch them!" He claimed. He felt like everything was going to shit and was beginning to get scared he wasn't going to be able to lift this curse.

The tablet started glowing the minute that Victoria held it, and as it glowed brighter, Victoria felt weaker. "The fuck was I supposed to do? Lose all of them? At least we have a chance with this one. I'll be fine. If we lost them, you won't. Besides it's too late, and it's glowing, that must mean something." Finally, Victoria stood, she was about to hand over the tablet to her best friend, when she was overcome with a dizzy spell, and stumbling to her knees on the ground again. She let go of the tablet, as if she knew that's what was causing her to feel weak. She took a breath, looking up at Cyrus again. "Let's just do what she says, find the tablets, or at least try to."

While Cyrus turned around, Cora released her arrow, creating a brand new plume of dust. But the final two closed in on her, too close for shooting. Cora jumped back a few feet while she slapped her bow against her arm— the weapon shrank back down to a metal band that circled her upper arm. In the same fluid motion, she pulled at her wristbands, transforming them into long daggers. She slashed, dodged, and dug her blade into fur until she was standing alone, lightly dusted in gold. "Woo!" she cheered, putting her attention onto the others. She waved again, blades still in hand so it looked like she was brandishing it into the air. "Hello demigods!" she called out, then paused, noticing their distress. "What's wrong? More beasties in the water?"

Crooke watched as the tablet glowed while in Victoria's grasp. It must mean something, he mentally confirmed to himself. She had a point. It still weighed on his mind what possible horrible scenarios could come from Victoria touching what she was warned not to. When she dropped to her knees, he lunged forward to try and catch her but she was already down. He did what he could and, when Cora came over, he sighed loudly. "No, I think that's all of 'em," He observed and scooped up the tablet that Toria wasn't holding anymore. "But, I lost some of what we came here for. They went into the falls." He confessed to the stranger and sounded bitter and tired.

Victoria finally stood, when the world was spinning less than before. Without the tablet in her hands, she felt a little better, but she kept that to herself. She took a few more deep breaths to compose herself. Victoria smacked Crooke's arm when he had a bitter tone to his voice toward the girl. "Don't be an ass, she literally just saved our lives," she told him. She turned her attention on the other girl. "Who are you? How'd you know we were here?"

Cora leaned forward, keeping her blades behind her back and out of the way, squinting at the tablet that was now in Cyrus's hands. "My name is Cora," she replied, glancing up to smile at Victoria. "I'm a Huntress! I've been at New Athens, but Artemis and Chiron asked me to make sure you were making it home okay. Good thing I am here, yes? No offense! You were very impressive. But it's been a long journey, so I can ease the burden. There were more of these?" she asked, gesturing to the stone with her chin. "Shall we search?"

Cyrus listened as Cora explained the reason for her being there and he was silent. He clenched his jaw for a moment and then sighed. "Yeah, there's two others. We aren't for sure which ones we needed so we took all of 'em," He explained and looked at the tablet in his hands. He swallowed hard. "Yea, we search," He agreed. "This one might be the one we need, but if we can, I want to try and find the others..." He sighed and turned but then stopped. He looked back at Cora. "—Thank you." He finally said and then began finding a way down and closer to the water.

"Yeah, good thing," Victoria answered, then added, "I wasn't really supposed to touch any of them." Victoria started to follow Cyrus. She pointed to the stream the waterfall poured into. "This one has a stronger current, it could've been taken a little down stream," she pointed out.

Cora's smile widened and she nodded enthusiastically. She pressed her daggers to her wrists until they morphed back into wristbands, then skipped over to the edge of the nearest waterfall. "Is there any magic that can find them?"

"I doubt it." Crooke responded as he started the search through the falls to find the missing tablets. He didn't even bother to glance over at Toria to check if his reply was true or not. At this point, he was pessimistic but it felt warranted because of everything they'd been through.

"I can try," Victoria said. "I know a spell, but magic didn't work on the tablets beforehand, I doubt they will now."

“Hm.” Cora peeked over the edge, squinting as if she could see what lies below. She kneeled down and stuck her hand in the water, feeling the current run over her palm. “By the speed of the water....” she mused, “I have no idea where they could be by now. Alas.” Cora stood and shook the water from her hand. “Let’s move downstream quickly, then!”

Cyrus looked around the area where the tablets had fallen in and wasn't seeing them anywhere. Upon hearing Cora's instruction, he sighed and then eventually nodded. "All right, right behind you..." He gestured.

Victoria followed her best friend and the huntress downstream, still feeling weird from beforehand, but she didn't bring attention to it, knowing this trip was for Cyrus. "I mean like the one I grabbed glowed that's gotta mean something, right?" she said. "If we don't find the others."

Cora bounced down the side of the stream, keeping her eyes fixated on the water as they walked. She nodded in response to Victoria, though she was unsure if the question was aimed at her. "Probably. Glowing usually means something. Though sometimes that something is a trick."

"I don't know. Fuckin' hell, this is bullshit." He complained as he stopped walking. He looked down and began inspecting the tablet in his hand. He frowned deeply at it. "I usually know when things are tricks." He stated. "I knew it was a trick when Hecate told us that there were going to be many stones to choose from..." He cursed, not at Victoria but was still facing her as he was focused on the tablet. "I thought we were pullin' one over on her by grabbin' them all, y'know?" He asked, looking at Toria now. "None of the other ones glowed though..." He mused and shook his head with his eyes closed. "Maybe we do have the right one...?" He thought about fate as he said these words.

"It's worth a shot. I feel like we're not exactly getting anywhere digging through water to find magical tablets," Victoria replied, "When honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they were all the same, and she just wanted to pull a fast one on us and act like they were all different."

"Very likely!" Cora chirped, her eyes still glued to the water. The sun was starting to fade fast, and she lightly tugged at one of the bands around her arm until her bow reappeared. "I'm afraid we may have to take a gamble on this one, then, as the light is going away." Finally, she looked back toward the demigods, her expression a touch more serious. "You have a gut feeling that this is the one?"

Crooke took it all in, the situation, the tablet, everything... And then he nodded with conviction. "Yeah, this has to be the right one."

Victoria nodded at the other. "Okay, let's get to the car. I want to get this shit over with."

Cora’s grin returned and she nodded. “Then I believe in your guts! Let us go. I can guard us on the way.”

"Fuckin' hell," He groans under his breath but mostly at Hecate's antics. He frowned but nodded. "All right, let's get outta here." He agreed.

------------------------- time skip ---------------------------

 Victoria set up the candles, the Lavender, and Garlic again. She drizzled the honey over it. Just like before, she looked over to Cyrus. Then she looked at the huntress. "Ready?"

Cora's eyes were bouncing all over, from object to object, place to place. "I am going to remain quiet," she announced. She'd put her bow away out of respect for the goddess they were about to meet, but she was still on high alert for monsters. "But I am here to help, so let me know if you need me to step in. Maybe a little tug at your ear?" She mimicked this motion, pulling lightly on her earlobe. "But yes, I am ready."

"Yeah, that works," He agreed to Cora but still sounded exhausted and a bit annoyed. He then looked at Victoria. He sighed. "Yeah. Go for it. Summon her ass here," He said. "It's now or never." He complained.

( tw blood ) Victoria opened the book, reciting the latin that she did not too long ago. Except this was different, and she could feel it. It was like she was saying the words, but the magic wasn't happening. When she was done with the spell, nothing happened, she felt something drip from her nose, bringing her hand up to it only to be met with blood. She was silent for a moment, before she finally said, "What the fuck?"

She kept to her word to stay quiet and out of the way, but the surprising lack of magic (and Victoria's panicked response) put Cora a little on edge. She didn't sense anything nearby, but her hand was at her arm anyway, fingers hooked on the metal band there. She turned slightly as her eyes continued to glance around, ready for a fight if one were to come.

Cyrus stood there with his arms crossed as Toria tried to cast her spell. Seeing the blood drip from her nose surprised him and he didn't know what was happening. He knew it wasn't good and stepped closer to Toria with unfurled arms. "Shit, are you okay?" He questioned and his brows were still tense but his tone was worried. He knew but blood meant something bad. "Is it overexertion from all the spells you've had to cast?" He questioned and hoped that was all it was as he stood close by.

Victoria shook her head, as her heart sank thinking back to her mother’s warning about the tablets. This was wrong and she was nervous that maybe this was her punishment. She shook her head at Cyrus. “I don’t know,” she told him. “Something’s wrong. It’s like it’s not even working.” 

“Just, let me concentrate,” Vic said, standing up. Victoria closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, focusing on the wind, trying to hear anything that showed Hecate was coming. She began the spell again, but it was the same as last, nothing felt like it was working. 

 Now, Victoria was angry. No, fuming. Her mother had taken so much, this was not going to be ruined either. She threw the book to the ground, looking up at the sky, tears in her eyes. “We did what you wanted!” she screamed, hoping that wherever Hecate was she could hear her. “Everything you asked, we did it. So you better get your bitch ass here!” Victoria was crying now, they had gotten this far, it couldn’t just be over.  Victoria was met with silence. Victoria lowered to the ground, her knees meeting with the pavement, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Please,” she begged, her voice in a whisper.

Crooke was prepared for the spell to work but, with the way things were turning to shit, what was left of his optimism was deflated. He almost encouraged his best friend but he couldn't bring himself to speak any encouraging words. 

By now, he had pieced together what the consequences were. Victoria's magic had been taken away as soon as she had touched the tablet. He listened to her scream and shout. It was almost like he was watching the scene from above himself. Victoria's words were sharp and made his head ache. When she broke into a crying whisper, so did his heart. 

Cyrus stepped forward as it seemed like Victoria was going to need consoling. A quick spark of a spell made his stomach drop because he now saw who had materialized before the trio. "You should know that I was busy, so make this quick." Hecate spoke and it sounded like a demand. "Thanks for the show too, I really enjoyed it," Hecate continued, as if she was here the whole time, watching her daughter break to pieces. 

Victoria looked up when she heard her mother, her eyes meeting the cold eyes of the other, tears streaming down her face now. She put together at this point that this was her punishment. "It's up to you now, we got your tablet," she snapped at Hecate. 

Hecate raised her eyebrows, "Now that's no way to talk to someone who is doing you a favor." Hecate tilted Victoria's chin up, and Victoria flinched away from her, turning her face. Hecate smirked, like she achieved something. "You touched the tablet, didn't you?"

"Of course she fuckin' touched the tablet. You set us up! If it wasn't for your damn hellhounds, then she wouldn't have!" Cyrus barked up from behind. His hands were fists and anger coursed through him like electricity. Facing the problem head on, he stood next to Toria now.

Hecate rolled her eyes at the child of Hermes, almost bored, though she was quite amused by his antics. "You're ridiculous, just like your father. They were protecting my tablets." 

"You could've warned us," Victoria replied. 

Hecate let out a laugh, as if what Vic had said was absolute nonsense. "Warn you? Where's the fun in that? I raise kids that are strong, that can handle themselves against hellhounds." 

Victoria practically growled at Hecate. "You didn't raise me, you're just an egg donor, or whatever the heck you do to reproduce." 

Hecate raised her eyebrows. "Oh Little Witch, you are much more like me than you realize, despite that tablet taking your magic." Victoria's heart dropped at that statement. She never thought of herself as anything close to Hecate, even with her magic. Hecate not only scared her about that, but also confirmed her fears of the punishment of the tablet. Hecate held out her hand, impatiently. "Speaking of, are you going to hand it over, or no?"

Cora's mild expression slowly morphed into a frown as she watched the exchange with the goddess. She held her weapon behind her back and stepped a little closer, dipping her head respectfully. "If they give it over, you will lift the curses, yes?" She smiled. "I would hate to report to Artemis that this was a long, meandering waste of time against demigods that you swore to stop harassing."

Hecate wasn't nervous, she spent years paying for her actions, plus these demigods sought her out. Hecate rolled her eyes once more, brushing the young huntress off. "Do not threaten me child," she said. "I already said I would lift the curses, no?"

"Then take your bullshit tablet and lift all of the curses you cast on me. Do it already." Cyrus said through clenched teeth and had a strong sense of what he should in the moment. It varied from how he wanted things to go. He wished he could just beat her ass like any other demigod. This made him even more bitter towards the entire pantheon as a whole. 

"You really need to learn how to hold your tongue." Hecate said with a pointed yet calm tone. She now held the tablet in her hands. She held out the fabric of the long cloak she was wearing and she tucked it away; disappearing into the darkness. 

"Trust me, I am." Cyrus replied. She composed herself and focused on him again. She did some sort of freaky hand motion and a sigil unfamiliar to him glowed brightly in front of Victoria and him. Also, he wasn't sure if this correlated but all of a sudden his headache was gone too. 

The sigil disappeared. "They are all gone now," Hecate confirmed with a godly nod of her head. "Now, I did say I was busy, didn't I?" She turned and dematerialised just as she had done to arrive. The air shifted and Crooke felt like he could take a breath.

Victoria looked over at Cyrus, finally standing up. "Did it work? Was that it?" she questioned. All that for Hecate to do some hand motion with a sigil? What the fuck? "You don't think it's a trick do you?"

"Um, no," His brows were brought together and he faced her. He didn't know what it was that made him think this, but he replied anyways. "I think she was telling the truth..." Cyrus sighed again and, although he looked rough, he felt a little bit better. "For once."

"I also think she was telling the truth," Cora said. She looked at the spot where Hecate stood. "She bluffs, but the gods keep a close eye on her after what she did. Especially Artemis, and our father." This last part she directed to Cyrus only. "If she was using some sort of trickery, then there could be... trouble. I doubt she wants that."

"Our father?" Victoria said, catching on to what Cora just said. "You're a child of Hermes?"

Cyrus heard what Cora had said and he tried to muster up his usual energy when getting to meet a new sibling. "Uh— What? Wait, whoa, why didn't you say anything earlier?" He asked. "Good to know Hermes always makes bad-asses." He remarked with a little smirk.

"Oh." Cora put a hand to her forehead. "Right! We are siblings, yes. I forgot to say so. Technically, I am a child of his Roman counterpart, but it's close enough." She smiled at him. "He does! You are quite badass, Cyrus. And you, too, Victoria." Cora put her hands on her hips. "And now I can escort you two badasses home."

Victoria had already started to pack up the stuff around them. As much as she just wanted to leave all of it here, she couldn't do that. She just wanted to forget about what happened, she wanted to fall asleep and hope this was all just some bad dream. She was happy for Cyrus, but she couldn't help but feel lost about what happened. She gave a soft smile at Cora, trying to cover all the pain she was feeling. "So like me and Jordan," she told Cyrus. "Yes, let's go home."

[godlyborn]

lavender, honey, & garlic.

date: sometime late october characters: cyrus rooke & victoria brant summary: crooke and toria debate on whether or not it’s a good idea to even bring hecate back into their lives.

Victoria didn't really speak much as they drove toward Indiana. She sighed slightly, picking at her nails nervously. "Is this a bad idea? It feels like a bad idea. I mean, this God started a war. What if she hurts you? What if it breaks the deal and she hurts people at camp? How do I summon them knowing that it can go bad?"

"I highly doubt she's gonna hurt me," Crooke responded back, glancing over at his best friend, as he was now the one who found himself behind the wheel of the car. "I don't think she even wants to start another war... Or else she would've done it by now, y'know?" He blazed their way down a highway with the help of the GPS. "We've come this far, how are we supposed to back down now?"

"I guess you're right. I just," she sighed. "It kind of just got normal with being a kid of Hecate, I don't want it to go back to when people hated magic. Especially when it's a big part of who I am." She flipped through the pages of her book again, trying to find her mother's spell to summon her. "Hah, I found it!" she said. "We need to stop somewhere to get lavender, honey, and garlic too."

Cyrus could see the risk they were taking, but also felt the need to see this through. "Hey, hey, Vic, it's just like what you said," He attempted to try and assure her. "We aren't going to tell anyone," He nodded and shifted from looking at the road and back to his best friend. "....We'll be okay," He said. "And, we can stop at a store before we get to the actual crossroads?" He suggested.

Victoria nodded in agreement, taking a deep breath. The girl sighed. "I just don't trust her, I've never trusted my mother. She's always ready and there to stab you in the back if given the chance."

"Then we won't give her the chance. We'll make it quick, so she doesn't have time to get all manipulative or whatever, you know?" Cyrus assured her once again. "I don't trust my father, but he helped us in his own weird fuckin' way, and nothing got too out of hand. I know our parents are different but if we stay vigilant we can finesse this too."

Victoria nodded along with Cyrus and his statements. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right. I mean, I am her daughter, so I’ve got to have some sort of something like her.” Victoria leaned her head back. “I’m sorry that this is already kind of a mess, I didn’t think she was going to be roaming about.”

"I think we inherit more from our parents than we realize. We're connected to them whether we like it or not," He commented back and then, despite it all, gave her a reassuring sort of smile. "Don't be sorry, Vic. We didn't know, hell, nobody knew..." His eyes flickered from the road and Toria as he spoke. "I have your back. Ride or die, remember?"

Vic smiled at him in the end. “Ride or die, always,” she replied. “Should I text Jordan about it though, or do you think that’s dumb?”

"I don't know..." Crooke started speaking again. "Do you think he'll keep it to himself? I feel like I could handle this information getting out but I don't want it to fuck with you in any way, y'know?" He expressed. Then, on their way, they passed a sign that said a town was coming up. He gestured with a nod of his head. "—We can stop there for the stuff we need."

“Jordan’s not a snitch, he is dumb sometimes, and a major pain in my arse, but he knows how to keep a secret,” Vic replied. “Yeah, I get you, but it also fucks with my siblings too, y’know? Having magic already screws things up.” Vic nodded. “Maybe they have a metaphysical store in this town too, I know they have legit stuff, rather than just walmart or something.”

"If you trust him, then I can't argue. You should tell him," He stated after putting himself in her position. "If you want to look up to see if there's any stores like that, might make things easier?" He wondered and shifted the car over into the far right lane as he was preparing to exit soonish.

Vic flipped through the pages of the books. "There's not much on it besides what I already found. Some stories about those who have to summon Hecate, but none give too much information. Though some of them they just didn't answer them."

"Well, if she doesn't answer, we’ll just keep trying. Or, at least, until you get sick of all of this shit I put you through. I know it hasn't been... the smoothest so far," He responded. "But I'm sorry for that. We are so close though," He pulled the car over in the far right lane so that he could exit. "I can't give up," Once they were driving in town, he chose a spot on one of the streets to park the car. "I'll owe you for the rest of my life."

"Oh sweetie, you already owe me," Victoria teased with a small smirk, getting out of the car. She leant on the top, watching Cyrus get out. "Now let's get that stuff so that I can kill my Mum." Toria watched as some random guy passed them, making a shocked face. She smiled sweetly. "I'm kidding."

Cyrus twirled his finger horizontally in the air next to his ear as if so say 'she's crazy' to the stranger as he gave them a weird look. He laughed and shook his head. He then locked the car. "C'mon," He started heading for the door of the shop; ushering his friend onwards as well. "Let's try and make this quick." He told her.

[godlyborn]

now or never. / cyrus & victoria.

date: sometime in november characters: cyrus rooke & victoria brant summary: hecate’s a real bitch

Victoria set the lavender and garlic down, drizzling the honey over it. She lit the candles, sitting in front of the Lavender and Garlic. She looked over at her best friend. "Now or never, right? Are you ready for this, because after this, there's no going back."

Crooke watched as Victoria began preparing the required items and lit the candles. He took a deep breath but nodded. "Yes, I'm ready," He answered her with intent. "I want these curses gone. I shouldn't have to still be punished for something I did when I was a teenager," He frowned. "Let's do this." He assured her.

Victoria took a deep breath, reciting the spell from the book in Latin. Vic heard the hellhounds that followed Hecate first, and it wasn’t long before Hecate answered, appearing in front of the two demigods. Victoria felt her heart go to her stomach as she looked up to her mother. “You rang?” she asked, she then looked over at Cyrus, a look of disgust on her face. “And you brought him, huh? I knew my daughter would have terrible taste in men.”

Cyrus held his breath and remained on his knees next to Victoria as she worked on the summoning spell. When Hecate appeared before them, the son of Hermes immediately stood to his feet. He felt hot anger shoot through him but, with clenched fists, he remained where he stood up. "I figured you wouldn't be happy to see me," Crooke spoke bitterly through gritted teeth and a jaw clenched so tight it felt it might break. "But, we need your help to fix what you've fucked up."

"Hush," Hecate said, casting a spell so that Cyrus could not speak for the time being. "You don't not speak to me that way, you insolent mortal. I'm sure you don't forget how you got here in the first place. No respect, I swear." 

 Victoria sighed, her hand grabbing hold of Cyrus' wrist as if to keep him from being impulsive. "I'm sure he didn't forget, mother," she replied. "And he's a friend, nothing more." Hecate released Cyrus from the silencing spell. "We were hoping though, you could fix the curses you cast on him.”

"Okay, and...?" Hecate asked. 

"And what?" Victoria replied. 

"What will you do for me in return?"

Cyrus tried to speak while Hecate's spell was cast but realized he couldn't and so he remained silent and angry until the goddess asked what they would do for them in return. "What do you want?" He asked, unamused and unimpressed.

“Go to the Upper Cataract Falls,” Hecate started. “There you’ll find small caves near the falls. I hope neither of you are claustrophobic. You have to climb in one and find one of my stone tablets.” 

“How do you know which one?” Vic asked. 

“Now if I told you that it would be no fun, now would it?” 

Victoria practically growled back at her mother, growing more annoyed at the minute. “You’re no help.” 

“I told you where to find it, didn’t I?” Hecate snapped back.

Cyrus clenched his jaw to keep himself from back-talking anymore but it soon got to be too much. "We don't need her to tell us which one," He managed to say, not even looking at Hecate any longer. "We can figure it out without her help." 

"Oh, is that so?" Hecate scoffed. "Suddenly so sure of themselves now, aren't we?" 

Crooke rolled his eyes and looked back at her. "—What else do we have to do?" Crooke bit back, unamused. 

"Whatever do you mean?" Hecate asked with an arch of her brow. 

"When we get the right tablet, what do we do next?" He clarified. 

By then, Hecate seemed bored. "You obviously bring it back to me. Just don't let it leave your sight or have anything happen to it on the return journey, got it...?" She sighed.

Victoria put a hand on Cyrus, as if to tell him to stop talking. Her heart pounding loudly in her chest as if she expected Hecate to do something to Cyrus. “And if something happens to it?” 

“Well then your little friend is going to be stuck with those curses forever. Oh, word of advice, I would let him hold it, unless you want something bad to happen to you, Victoria.” And with that vague response, Hecate teleported out, leaving Cyrus and Victoria in the middle of the crossroads. 

Vic looked over to Cyrus. “What the fuck was that even supposed to mean?”

It was hard for Cyrus to not get heated when he felt like so much was on the line. In the moment, he felt fearless and shrugged off Victoria's touch. Hecate's words made his hands clench and, immediately after her abrupt disappearance, Crooke took a late step forward in reaction. "What the fuck?" He asked too but it was pointless. He then turned around to face his best friend. "I'm sorry but I fuckin' hate your mom," He confirmed and sighed loudly at the shit they had now to pick up. "And where the fuck are the Upper Cataract Falls?" He asked like she would just know and didn't hold back his favorite swear word.

"You and me both buddy, be happy that she didn't give birth to you," Victoria replied. "Just keep your cool okay? She's fuckin' petty and I don't want you to get hurt because she didn't like what you said." She grabbed out her phone, looking up what the upper cataract falls were. "It's actually in Indiana, it's not too far from here it seems. Why the fuck can't I touch it?"

Cyrus paced while Victoria searched on her phone. "Oh, great, peachy fuckin' keen," Cyrus said with a distressed tone that also showed how tired he really was, but was only running on his big emotions. "At least we'll only have to be her personal delivery service for a short trip," He groaned in frustration and then bent down to begin cleaning up their summoning altar. "I don't want to find out what happens, so just promise me that you'll let me handle touching the weird-ass stone shit, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah, I promise," Victoria replied. "Now let's go find some weird freaking cave and stone tablet." Victoria groaned slightly. "I feel we're in 700BC or some shit. My mother and her stone tablets."

"She acts like it's the fuckin' stone ages," He rolled his eyes. Once the altar was cleaned up, he stood up and sighed. "C'mon, let's get back to the car and get on with this." He said and turned to walk away from the crossroads.

"I know that didn't mean to be a pun, but lowkey it was kind of funny." Victoria said with a small laugh. "Sorry, be serious." She took a breath. Victoria stared at the crossroads, as if part of her knew what was to come. Something about her mother's attitude gave her the heebie-jeebies. "Yeah, let's get going."