twin breaths
Jude is pissed.
Understandable, all things considered. Between the grating screech of metal against metal, stale air filling her lungs, darkness filling the space around her like a shroud, and the bleating of cattle in the cages around her, pissed is understandable. Of course, having her mind wiped almost clean of memories - save for a few facts she is yet to sort through- doesn't exactly help matters. Then again, she's quite sure she is going to die soon in this metal cage moving upwards at an alarming rate.
Small mercies.
At the sound of shuffling and loud, heavy breathing from the dark corner opposite her, Jude pulls herself out of her own head and frowns, left hand drifting to the ring on her right one.
That's no animal.
A long string of curses from the corner has Jude biting back a groan. Of course, this shitty situation wasn't enough. Now she has to deal with the idiot fumbling in the dark opposite her. A pause has her reconsidering quickly however, hands clamping down on the metal floor to keep herself steady as the cage picks up pace. Jude has no problem forcing information out of the stranger still cursing in the corner, oblivious to her presence. She can be violent when she wants to be.
With a quick prayer to every god up there and a deep breath, Jude pushes back onto her knees, ignoring the sharp pains shooting up her thighs, and lunges. A twist of the ring on the middle finger of her right hand has her sword immediately in her palm, familiar and soothing.
With a grunt, the stranger is down on his back, Jude's sword poised on his neck and her foot pressing down on his chest. The darkness works both with and against Jude, and when the stranger fumbles in the dark, he grabs onto her ankle, and yanks her down. She grits her teeth as she falls onto her side, slamming her head into a wooden crate, just seconds before a flash of light above her has her cursing under her breath and rolling just in time to avoid the blade that strikes the metal floor she was sprawled out on less than a moment ago, a loud metal clang echoing through the cramped space.
Distantly, Jude wonders where and when the fuck this guy found a sword, but she doesn't give herself the time to ponder before she's pushing herself up and tackling the stranger down onto the metal floor, kicking away his sword as it skitters across the floor. With a snarl, she grabs his collar, raising his head inches above the ground before slamming his head back onto the floor, sword still positioned under his jaw.
"Where the fuck am I?" Jude tightens her grip, pressing down onto his chest with her knee. Gritting her teeth, Jude wishes there was atleast a little light in this hellhole, just so she didn't have to fight this guy based on sound alone.
When a second or two goes by without a response, Jude decides she really wants to kill this guy. Maybe it's the adrenaline, or the hostile situation, or maybe she's just in a really bad fucking mood. She decides she doesn't really care.
"Jude?"
Jude immediately decides she does, in fact, care, and maybe she doesn't really want to kill him after all. Because Jude could go to the ends of the earth, forget her entire life, but she could never really forget her brother's voice.
A shuddering breath escapes her, and something cold shoots up her spine before her sword clangs onto the floor beside her loudly, and suddenly she's pulling him up by his collar onto his knees, and collapsing into her brother's arms, open and real and oh, so familiar.
"Nico."
"Fuck." Is the only response she gets before Nico's arms tighten around her, and his forehead is pressed against hers.
"I could've killed you, you fucking idiot." Jude is unsurprised to discover that not ten seconds have passed since she's found her brother and she is already insulting him. Apparently, neither is Nico, because he chuckles, raspy and heavy, and so wonderfully comforting Jude almost grins. "I know." He replies, pulling away and fumbling in the darkness before his hands settle on her shoulders. "Hey, how do you know I wouldn't have killed you first?"
She scoffs, despite the corners of her lips harbouring a secret smile Nico can't see. "In your dreams. I had you on the ground with my sword to your neck and yours a foot away. You're getting rusty, Neeks." She smirks into the darkness.
"You know my swords back already." She can nearly hear the smirk on his face as he lifts his left hand off his shoulder, and she knows he's waving it in front of her face, despite the fact she can't see the identical silver ring she knows is fitted onto his finger. She chuckles and lets him pull her down, tugging her to the metal wall of the cage, legs sprawled out in front of them and shoulders pressed together.
She knows what's coming before he even speaks.
So, she beats him to it. "We're so fucked. So immaculately, wonderfully, sickeningly fucked." An amused snort escapes Nico, and a beat passes before he speaks again. "No memories for you either, I'm guessing?"
She turns her head, studying the outline of her brother's figure in the dim light starting to show. Their ride is, very clearly, coming to an end fast. Her voice is low and devoid of any humour when she replies. "A few."
He doesn't seem surprised at all by this answer. He nods, and Jude can see the outline of his profile more clearly now when she steals a sideways glance at him. His lips are pressed into a thin line, eyebrows furrowed. "You remember, don't you?"
She doesn't need to ask. "Yes."
Rise, Jude de Angelo, daughter of Hades, god of the underworld, commander of the dead, lord of riches.
He nods, tension clear is the clench of his jaw and the stiffness of his shoulders. "What about you? What else?" She questions, looking away.
"Just . . . Names." He slips his hands around his knees, curled up to meet his chest. "Will, Jason, Bianca, Piper, Annabeth, Percy-"
"Leo, Hazel, Frank, Reyna, Thalia." She cuts him off, well aware of the scowl etched onto her face. Unsurprised, Nico grits his teeth, a nerve jumping in his jaw visible even in the dim light. "How comforting." Bitterness laces his tone, and Jude can share the sentiment.
The cage jerks to a sudden halt,and the metal screeching stops so abruptly Jude nearly groans with relief. The feeling is quickly cut off by the sound of the animals bleating and snorting even louder in alarm. Resisting the urge to cut her ears off, Jude immediately reaches for Nico, pulling him back against a wooden crate and tucking her knees in, trying to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible. Nico quickly mirrors her, hand settling on his ring and scrambling against the crate.
Sharing a tense look with Nico, Jude stiffens in her place when a heavy grating sound fills the space and she can't help but wince, watching huge double doors part in the ceiling, stone doors forced apart. Blinding light spills into the box, and Jude blinks harshly and looks away, shielding her eyes with her forearm. The unmistakable light of the sun lights up the dusty air, illuminating the small and cramped space around her.
At the low but steadily rising murmur of dozens of overlapping voices, Jude lowers her arm with apprehension. It takes a few seconds to get used to the light, having been deprived of it for so long, but when she does, Jude quickly decides it's not her most favourite thing in the world.
Roughly about forty boys, most of them clearly teenagers, peer down at them.
Nico pulls Jude further into the corner, jaw clenched and shoulders tense. In the dusty sunlight pouring through the ceiling, Jude can properly see him for the first time in her pitiful memory, shaggy black hair falling over his forehead and curling slightly at the back of his neck, dark eyes and pale skin, all sharp edges and hard looks.
"Go get the greenie, Newt, what are ya' waiting for?" The loud, deep voice has Jude tightening her grip on her ring, eyes squeezed shut for a second before she forces them open.
"There's no greenie." A strong british accent speaks up, and Jude can tell the voice is right at the edge of the cage, just above the two of them. Jude and Nico steal glances at each other, locking eyes, and a look passes between them.
Not the most ideal situation, but the two have no reservations with how many they have to get rid of to make it out of here, wherever here is.
Meanwhile, above, murmurs erupt all around them, and Jude has to stop herself from wincing at the rise of voices. "Slim it, shanks!" The same heavy voice rings out, and Jude has no time to question his choice of words before he's speaking again.
"Newt, go down and check, maybe he's hiding down there." The authoritative voice booms over all the others, and Jude has just barely registered the words before someone is jumping into the box, making it rattle and sway unsteadily. She hisses out a curse under her breath, and Nico clamps down on her arm to make her shut up.
From where the two crouch, she can see the boy who's just jumped in, dusty blond hair lit up by the sunlight pouring in, lanky and tall. He pauses, regaining balance. Jude's heart is in her throat, head throbbing.
The boy clenches a makeshift rope in his hand, ivy and vines braided together. He looks around for a few seconds, his expression twisted in confusion, worry etched in every line of his face.
His gaze sweeps the cage before his brown eyes settle on Jude's, who stiffens and narrows her eyes.
"Bloody hell."
His heavily accented voice cuts through her racing thoughts, and Nico shifts his weight, a near animalistic snarl escaping him, and the boy's gaze shifts to him, eyes widening in shock. Jude bites back a curse, resisting the urge to hit Nico for attracting the boy's attention.
"What's wrong, Newt?"
"It's a boy," He pauses. "and a girl."
Voices ring out above them, confusion and excitement heavy in the air.
"Two of em'?"
"Is she pretty?"
"A girl?"
"I call dibs!"
Jude bites down on the urge to slaughter every person in a fifty mile radius, and considers their chances against the boys around them, just barely stopping herself from drawing her sword. A muscle jumps in Nico's jaw, eyes set on the blonde, fiery hostility etched on his face.
"Shut your holes, shanks! What the shuck are you on about, Newt?"
"You heard me, there are two of 'em this time, a girl and a boy!" His eyes stay locked on mine, gaze wide and doubtful.
"Well then, get 'em out, would ya'?"
The boy's expression falters, and his eyes flick up before settling on the two in front of him. Clearly unsure of how to approach this, he puts his hands up and started slowly begins approaching the two, slow and cautious in his movements, deliberately portraying his harmlessness.
"I'm not going to hurt you." He says, pronouncing each syllable slowly, palms out and eyes wide. Jude nearly scoffs out loud at his words. Bold of him to assume he even could. Nico, however, doesn't bother stifling his smirk, eyes flickering to Jude, like he knows what she's thinking. Jude wouldn't be surprised.
The boy's expression wavers, catching the micro interaction between the two of them.
The humour passes quickly, and Jude can't help but raise her eyebrows and glance at her brother when he speaks. In Italian.
"We have to get out of here." His eyes settle on her's, determination set in his expression.
"Not arguing with that. What about him?" She replies in like, tilting her head towards the blond, who is currently looking extremely confused, eyes jumping between the two of them. Jude resists the urge to roll her eyes.
"Uh, what?" The guy furrows his eyebrows, confusion evident on his face.
"What's wrong, Newt?" The deep voice shouts from above, seeming to notice his hesitation.
"They're talking in some different language!" The boy-Newt-calls back.
"I don't think they know English!" 'Newt' calls up, glancing up in hesitation.
"We know English just as well as you do!" Jude snarls at the boy, hostile competitiveness laced in her tone.
"Woah, alright then, love." He backs away a little, eyes widening, startled by the outburst.
Nico grabs her shoulder firmly, tugging her back and shaking his head ever so slightly.
His glittering dark eyes move past her, latching onto the blond still standing in front of them. Jude almost pities his bewildered expression.
The siblings lock eyes, gritty determination set in their expressions. They exchange a curt nod, hands touching onto their rings at the same time. With no warning or tell, both of them leap out of their little corner, darting in opposite directions, twisting their rings at the same time and transforming them to long Stygian blades.
Jude wields her sword with nimble ease, body responding quickly to her mind as reflex and battle instinct take over her senses.
Distantly, in the back of her mind, Jude registers the fact that she doesn't know what she's doing. It's all her body, muscle memory and instinct holding the reins, directing her movements. She wouldn't be surprised if Nico was in the same predicament.
Nonetheless, they move in sync, exactly in the right place at the right time, all practiced movements and rehearsed twists.
Not three seconds have passed before the blond is slammed onto the steel ground on his back, and a grunt is all he's allowed before Jude drops onto his chest, knee digging into his stomach and sword pointing directly to his heart, the point of her blade poised to kill.
She doesn't, of course. Kill him, that is. A hard decision, really. She really would like to take out some of her shitty mood onto Blondie over here. Then again, leverage is power, and Jude likes power.
Meanwhile, her twin is crouched by Blondie's head, his sword wedged into the metal framework of the ground just inches from blondie's ear.
"Hey, how come I got the boring part?" Nico cocks his head, eyebrows furrowed together in a teasing frown.
She grins, then, lifting her gaze to his. "I was faster, wasn't I? Sorry, Neeks, but Chiron would be disappointed in you."
The words have only just left her lips before she registers what she just said. Not that she has any idea, mind you. Her eyes widen, and so do Nico's, surprise and confusion and something else she can't quite figure out flickering in his eyes.
A loud voice cuts through her thoughts, and Jude nearly groans in frustration. "Newt! What the shuck-" It's a new voice, loud, deep, and grating. It makes Jude want to put her head through a wall.
Voices erupt all over again, this time toned with shock and indignation, fear coating their tones. The sound of shuffling fills the air and a glance upward tells Jude most of them have backed away from the edge of the box.
But someone else jumps down into the structure suddenly, making it shake and rattle even more. Both Jude and Nico's heads snap to the newcomer. Green eyed and dark haired, the boy is burly and large, and Jude has to stifle a snort when she sees the boy's atrocious eyebrows, high and pitched upwards.
All humor quickly evaporates, however, when she sees his eyes, rageful and tempered. She nearly snarls when he takes a step in Nico's direction, but quickly realises she really needn't have worried, because it doesn't take Nico a second to shoot up and spin out of reach when the guy reaches for him, and suddenly her brother is behind the boy, reaching for his neck and kicking the back of the guy's knees so he falls onto his knees with a grunt, and Nico doesn't need another second to plant a foot on the back of his calves and wind his arms around the boy's neck, placing his sword to his throat.