Things we get at the market
Regulus screwed up his nose in disgust as he looked at Nico's monstrous pizza toppings. "Do you truly need to put sardines and strawberries on your pizza?"
Nico nodded cheerfully and popped yet another strawberry in his mouth. “Of course I do! You only judge it because you haven't tried it yet! My strawberry-sardine pizzas are better than even mamma's tiramisu is!"
Or at least, that's what he thought the little gremlin said, as he said it with his cheeks popping out like a hamster because he was eating four strawberries at one time. Truly, if not for the fact he had taught them pureblood etiquette lessons himself and thus knew that his little siblings very well knew how to behave and just decided to not to, he'd think them very unmannered.
He wouldn't be surprised if they just decided to act like this because they knew it irritated Regulus. That would be the exact kind of thing Bianca and Nico would do to entertain themselves, he supposed.
Bianca turned away from her own pizza, a perfectly regular mozzarella pizza (at least, it would have been, if not for the pieces of chocolate on it, further proving that Regulus was the only one of them with actual taste), to stare dubiously at Nico.
"Now, that is what I would call a bold claim."
Nico replied maturely by sticking out his tongue. “Your face is a bold claim!”
Bianca smiled smugly. “Thank you, Nico. That's very sweet of you to say”, she replied sweetly.
“That makes no sense! It wasn't a compliment!”
“I take it as one though, which makes it one!” She replied triumphantly.
Nico looked at Regulus with big eyes that screamed ‘I have no idea what's going on anymore’. “Reggie help! Bi is making no sense again!”
Regulus chuckled, his eyes, remaining on the perfectly-normal-and-not-at-all-weird salami pizza he was making for himself. Mindlessly, he added some more oregano spices to add flavor to his salami.
“I'm afraid you have to fight your own battle this time, Nico.”
The ten year old boy pouted adorably. “That's not fair!”
He put an ungodly amount of extra sardines and strawberries on his pizza. Coincidentally, they were all placed to make frowny faces - he was dramatic like that.
Bianca sniggered. “Just like your face!”
“You just used my own joke against me!” He complained loudly, “That has to be against the rules or something!”
Bianca shook her head. “Nope! Because as your older sister, I make the rules!”
“With that logic, shouldn't Reggie make the rules?”
“Oh, he does. I just ignore them.”
Regulus huffed. “So you even admit it?” He asked dryly.
Bianca shrugged carelessly. Well, that was that, he supposed. He walked over to Nico to grab a big dark red strawberry, and put it into his mouth. He let out a contented hum, understanding why Nico enjoyed these strawberries so much. Then of course, it wasn't surprising that they tasted divine; Persephone had made them, after all.
“Then why can't I ignore your stupid rules?!” Nico exclaimed, throwing up his hands and with it, accidentally a sardine in Bianca's hair.
She yelped and attempted to get it out of her hair, but instead messed up her crown braid. She tossed mozzarella at Nico's hair, which had similarly been braided with sunflowers in it by Regulus. Nico, however, noticed it coming and slipped into a nearby shade just in time, causing Regulus' suit to become stained.
He looked away from his pizza to look at the two very guilty looking siblings.
“Seriously?”
Bianca shrugged. “You should've done what Nico did.”, she replied utterly without any remorse.
Nico apologised with a smile and the infamous puppy eyes that Bianca had taught him before he could even walk.
"You have more suits?" he offered after a silent moment.
Bianca sat down, having finished her pizza. “To be fair, as Persephone always says, ‘You can never have too many flowers, clothes, shoes, enemies to torment or books.” She grinned. “As mamma is on a date with papa and Persephone-”
Nico frowned, “They said that Persephone and mamma don't like each other like that.”
Bianca rolled her eyes. “Don't be a baby Nico, they clearly said that because Andrea was also there.”
Regulus sighed. “Please don't call Nico a baby, Bi.”
“Yes Bi, don't call me a baby!” Nico chirped in.
She stuck out her tongue. “Baby!”
Nico tossed another sardine at her, which she caught with her mouth, making Nico gape.
“How?” He sputtered. “Are you secretly a dolphin?!”
Regulus hummed, “That's a good theory, Nico. If she doesn't stop this, we might even test it out!”
Bianca stuck out her tongue. “Says the one who can't swim.”
Nico frowned concernedly at Regulus. “You can't swim?”
“I probably could if I tried, I just don't want to. There's almost nothing that would make me willingly go into water.” Unlike his little siblings, Regulus had never taken up the offer of their father to teach them how to swim in his (-normal) pool in the Underworld. Drowning once already was more than enough experience with water than he would have ever liked.
Besides, he'd just use the shadows to avoid water so he would not have to swim once in his life. It was fine.
“Because of uncle seabeard?” Nico asked, making Bianca snigger.
Regulus nodded. “Among other things.”
"Boo!" Nico shouted, living up more to his ghost king nickname than Regulus had ever hoped he would. He created a wave-formed shadow on the white wall in front of them that was slowly creeping to Regulus.
“I am the big bad water, Reggie's worst nightmare!” He boomed speaking extra low. How a ten-year-old could speak that low, Regulus did not know. Even his voice wasn't that low and he was six years older!
Regulus honestly was glad that his little brother had not decided to speak like that all the time. It would have been enough to make a grown man cry.
Bianca grinned mischievously at Regulus, noticing his discomfort. “Don't worry Reggie, we will keep you safe from the big bad water.”
Nico, looking just as mischievously, nodded energetically. “SÌ! Uncle fish-breath would never dare to even think about drowning you!”
Regulus's face paled even more at the thought of drowning.
Bianca glared at Nico, who flushed and grinned sheepishly. “What he meant to say is that we'll help you!”
Nico nodded happily in agreement. “For eternity and beyond!”
All of a sudden, he let out a dramatic gasp. “We're out of strawberries!”
“How?!” Regulus asked incredulously, thoughts about drowning fortunately being put away again. “Mamma and Persephone made well over two hundred strawberries!”
Nico nodded, his lips were red with strawberry. “We used them all.”
Bianca sighed disappointedly. “In one weekend?! I wanted to taste them too!”
“What can I say?” Nico said airily, “I'm a strawberry-aholic! I just can't help it, Bi! When I see the divine red fruit, I need to eat it!” His eyes lit up, “So it's really not my fault that I ate all the strawberries!”
Regulus shook his head bemusedly. Even if he were deaf, he would have heard the nonsense coming out of his brother's mouth. “Well, alright then.” He sighed, already knowing that he was going to regret this. “We can go to the market after having eaten our pizzas.”
Bianca and Nico cheered.
“Oohh, we could buy flowers, books, clothes and other delicious stuff!” Bianca gushed.
Nico nodded joyfully. “And extra-extra strawberries!”
Regulus sighed again to himself, feeling like he had just made a severe mistake he was going to regret later on. “Let's just eat our pizzas and then go?”
If after that statement, his siblings suddenly knew how to use their manners and ate their pizzas without looking like peasants, Regulus wouldn't comment on it.
……..
They sat together on a bench in a park near the market, which had been far less expensive than Regulus would have ever expected. Then again, there technically was a war going on. If not for their knowledge of it, the ever-gloomy atmosphere in the background and the lack of grown men around, he wouldn't have noticed it that much.
“They aren't as good as mamma and flower-mamma made.” Nico mumbled after having eaten give or take a dozen strawberries. Regulus privately agreed with him.
“It's better than nothing, no?” He asked, looking carefully around them to spot any monsters.
Ever since Bianca had turned twelve, and thus had gotten a far more powerful Demigod-smell too, the daily monster attacks had grown even more.
Not that long ago, one of the Furies had even come, thinking she smelled her master, but left surprised after finding out she had found three of his children. Granted, Hades later on told them that he had ensured she would never say something, not if she knew what was good for her, but it definitely said something about their Demigod-smell.
It probably also was what protected them too, to be honest. What monster would want to go where Hades himself was residing?
Bianca grinned happily. “These strawberries are pretty good, and we got everything we wanted!”
She had bought a green cap for herself to put it over her sardine-ruined hair. Regulus had helped to un-braid her hair, and had tossed the sardines at birds who were happy with the free lunch.
Nico was still happily wearing his sunflower braid. Regulus was wearing one too, except Bianca and Nico had braided his hair, so it wasn't as pretty as their braids had been. He didn't mind - to him, his hair always was far more beautiful when his siblings had done it.
“Hey look!” Bianca whisper-shrieked at three figures in front of them. One was wearing the same cap Bianca was, but it was colored red, and the other two ones were somewhere between Bianca and Regulus's age.
As if they had heard them, the strangers turned around and walked to them. Upon seeing them, the girl with the red cap on her head immediately stood as still as a statue.
"Baah!” She shrieked after having gotten over the biggest part of her shock. She looked at them with wide eyes.
The other girl frowned at them. Her eyes were gray, and Regulus mentally put away the fact she probably was a daughter of Athena. His father had taught them popular signs in a Demigod that told them which Olympian God or Goddess they had spawned from (his father's words).
Of course, there were exceptions and features that could belong to multiple Gods and Goddesses, but those exceptions were extremely rare.
“Half-Bloods?” She asked with a heavy American accent. It was so out of place here that Regulus blinked in surprise.
The blond, gray eyed boy they were with rolled his eyes. He was probably her half-brother. “Of course they are! Or do you think that Viridis had that reaction for nothing?!” He scoffed. “Honestly, Violetta, sometimes I think mother only gave you her eyes.”
He had spoken in the same American accent, and had practically confirmed Regulus's suspicion. Interesting.
Who Regulus now knew to be Violetta, gasped. “You take that back!”
Before they could squabble like children, Viridis cleared her throat. “Don't mind them, please. My name is Viridis, what are yours?”
Bianca and Nico narrowed their eyes, having long since been taught to never tell their names to strangers. Especially when said strangers clearly had ties to the mythical world.
“Why do you want to know?” Bianca asked dubiously.
Nico nodded, scowling. “If you want to eat us, you'll turn into dust!”
Viridis sighed, muttering something like ‘This is not my job’ under her breath, if Regulus heard her correctly.
“Do you know who the Greek Gods are?” Violetta asked kindly.
The boy rolled his eyes. “They literally just mentioned monsters turning into dust if they try to eat them. Honestly, Vi. Get a grip already, it's embarrassing.”
Viridis, whose nickname must also be ‘Vi’, cleared her throat awkwardly. “Right. If we were still in America, this all would have been so much easier. We weren't supposed to find three powerful Half-Bloods in Italy of all places!”
“Do we have to go back now?” the boy asked, clearly irritated. “We were supposed to find Pan and the Athena Parthenos, not three untrained Half-Bloods nobodies!”
Regulus sat straighter, he could only just stop his eye from twitching in annoyance. What was it with Regulus meeting blond Demigods around the age of fourteen and them being annoying? It had happened twice, but he had also only met two male half-bloods.
“You can go on with your search. My siblings and I are perfectly fine where we are.” He replied calmly.
"Baah!” Viridis laughed loudly. “According to your scents, the three of you are children of Olympians. There is no doubt about it.”
She sniffed deeply. “I cannot say which God is your parent, as I have not been trained in that especially, being a searcher of Pan myself and not an Olympian Half-Blood specialist, but I can definitely tell that you are Powerful with a capital P, meaning you must be children of Olympians.”
Violetta frowned. “If they're really that powerful, then how is he that old? A monster should have eaten him a long time ago.”
Nico popped strawberries in his mouth as if they were popcorn and he was watching the most entertaining show to ever exist.
“We do have a duty to our noble quest.” The boy spoke boredly, sounding as if he could not care less about them if he tried. Regulus fully believed that. The feeling was also very much mutual.
“And if they have managed to survive for this long…” He continued, smiling arrogantly.
Regulus nodded. “He's right. My siblings and I will be just fine without your interference. There's really no need to feel bad about leaving us behind.”
Viridis looked like she didn't quite believe them, but after a while she nodded to herself and handed them a small paper with an address on it.
“This is the address of Camp Half-Blood. It's located in America, which isn't optimal to go to from here, especially with the sea monsters that will try to eat you during your trip, but it is a safe place where you can train how to survive and meet others like you. Perhaps even siblings and your Godly parent!”
Violetta frowned. “They'd never make it on their own.” She said it simply, as if it were a fact like the sky was blue.
The boy shrugged. “Not our problem. We can't go back now.” He rolled his eyes. “Or are you simply THAT stupid?”
Violetta huffed. “You know what, James?! I have had it with your belittling of my every word and action. I may not be our mother's most powerful or bright child, nor will I ever be, but I am wise enough to know that this is not worth it. Viridis and you can continue to search for Pan and the Athena Parthenos, but I quit.”
Viridis’ face paled. “‘One shall be left behind’.” She quoted gloomly. “We promised to stay together.”
James scoffed. “Honestly, Vi? We're better off without her.”
The satyr frowned at them, but didn't say anything to deny it. “Very well. Good luck then.”
When James and Viridis had left, Violetta let out an almost hysterical laugh.
“Oh my gods, I just did that.” She whispered to herself. “Oh Gods, my mother would kill me if she'd find out I left the search for the Athena Parthenos.”
Nico scrunched up his nose. “Your mother sounds like an ass.”
Regulus glared at him. “Don't speak like that about Goddesses.”
He shrugged. “Alright, I'm sorry.” He did not sound like he was sorry, but it was all about the formality anyway.
Violetta only laughed in response. “You remind me of myself when I was younger.” She huffed out. “I used to think I was a child of Lord Apollo, you know? Music and all that jazz was my jam. My father even was a professional jazz player.”
Bianca's eyes lit up. “Really?!”
The dark-skinned girl nodded proudly, her bright gray eyes stood out only more now. “Yes. I'm from New Orleans, Jazz is basically our thing. My father wasn't a big shot musician or anything like that, but he was so talented at playing jazz that my mother must have noticed his musical geniusity.”
Nico handed her a strawberry, which she accepted happily. “Thanks.” She looked far-away for a moment.
“Excuse me if it's out of line, but do you know who your Godly parent is?” She abruptly asked, bewaking the comfortable silence.
Regulus shared a look with his siblings, and came to an agreement.
“We do, but you must promise on the river Styx not to tell.”
Violetta shrugged. “Honestly, at this point I just don't care anymore. I have nothing and no-one left, so I might as well make new friends, right?” She smiled wryly. “Not to mention that my mother is famous for being able to hold a grudge. I cannot rely on her help anymore.”
“Very well. Promise it first.” He continued.
She nodded contentedly to herself. “You're clever, that's good. I would have hated to have to be the only one with common sense here. Especially, as James said, that's not my best point.”
Bianca scowled. “James is also an ass.”
Nico high-fived her. “Indeed! I hope he stabs his toe to a stone and it bleeds! A lot!”
Regulus shook his head in amusement. His little siblings were so adorable.
“Painfully!” Bianca continued happily, sounding as if she hadn't just come up with a painful idea.
Violetta shook her head bemusedly. “I promise on the River Styx to not share your Godly parentage with anyone.” The bright thunderstrike in the clear blue sky made the vow official.
“We can't tell you who they are when we're here in the open, though.” Regulus said.
Violetta nodded. “It's too dangerous...", she guessed.
They nodded, and took her hand. “This will make you dizzy.” Nico said far too joyfully. Why were his siblings such sadists? At least it was entertaining, he supposed, so it was alright.
The desperate shadows in the shadow-realm had become simply background noise to Regulus. It was always the same whining about being able to help Regulus if he helped them, too. Really, he'd expected them to at least try to be more creative.
Alas, it appeared that being dead did not make you more creative. Who could have guessed?
Violetta dry heaved on the kitchen floor. “What.” She gasped. “Was that?”
Regulus grabbed a glass of water and handed it to her. She gulped it down greedily.
“Shadow-apparation” He answered.
She frowned, and leaned against the kitchen wall. “So you're not the children of Apollo.” She surmised. “I expected that, considering your eyes.”
Regulus looked pointedly at Nico's pitch-black eyes. “Does he look like a son of the sun God?”
She shook her head. “No, but there can always be exceptions. Who is your Godly parent, then? Ares? It would make sense for children of the war God to be able to transport, using shadows, I suppose. It would be very handy in a battle.”
She hummed to herself. “Or Hermes, the God of traveling? For his children to have the rare ability to transport would also make sense. Just like how some children in Hephaestus can make fire. It's very rare, but it happens. And how some children of Hermes can fly, or how some children of Athena can make olive trees out of nowhere.”
Nico's eyes grew wide. “Can you?!”
She shook her head. “I wish; it'll be very cool to just create olive trees out of thin air, but on the other hand I'm very glad that I can't do that. Everyone knows that those exceptional children only appear in troubling times. I wouldn't want to be a bad omen.”
Regulus nodded. “That makes sense. My siblings and I are children of Hades.”
Violetta gulped audibly and paled. “Are you sure?!”
Bianca rolled her eyes. “No, we aren't. It was just a nice guess because Regulus loves to kill plants.” She sassed.
Violetta sighed. “Oh well, this might as well happen.” After a moment, she hummed. “It would not be wise for us to go to Camp Half-Blood during the war now, though, considering, no offense, but considering who your half-siblings are.”
At that exact moment, Hades, Persephone and Maria appeared right in front of them.