Who: Poseidon, Mara and Amphitrite What: Captain Pissy Pants and Mara go to rescue his little Hunny Bunny. When: Late night, Friday evening, January 18, 2011 Where: Greece Warning: Language, killings, talk of torture, happy endings?
It was dark by the time Poseidon and Mara reached Greece with a direction of where they were headed. Gathering fake documents, boarding an early morning plane, letting Mara charm security, that had been the easy part. Now it was finding his little treasure, then wiping the earth clean of the dirty fool who'd thought it wise to touch her. Poseidon was on a rampage, the Hudson river incident just a taste of the damage he was ready to do. However, he was growing tired with each minute, feeling as if his stamina was slipping. What was worse is that since they arrived it was like his energy was being sucked dry, something he couldn't explain. Like a dark cloud hoovering overhead ready to strike.
Dressed casually, not flaunting like the rich tycoon he was, he could easily hide a gun under his coat. It stayed pressed against his back, tucked into the belt of his jeans. He walked like the whole world was to be swept under his fingertips. At one point in time it could have been. This was his home, but even the ancient pull couldn't thwart against whatever was hoovering over him. Poseidon had weakened himself for causing strife on the New York coast, cracking the ground ever so slightly to vocalize his anger. Time was playing catch up with him now. He flicked his fingers at Mara in a summoning motion to do her thing so they could pinpoint Amphitrite's exact location. If this girl was throwing him on a wild goose chase then she'd be the one knocked around.
"This better not be some wild chase," he warned her in that heavy growl.
She had felt it when they got out of American air space. It was as if something had gone SNAP inside her, and her magics weakened. She hasn't felt like this in literal ages, and she knew they'd have to make this quick.
But it was the feel of her curse kicking into high gear that made her blood run cold. She was closer to her land of origin. It was also the curse's land of origin and proximity made it stronger. Her eyes flickered to Poseidon and she swore silently, praying...actually praying...that they could do this before the curse went off.
She sighed for the growl and shook her head with a bit of a frown. "Chill out and hope they haven't moved her when the two douchebags didn't check in."
She pulled the pendulum, shoved as much energy into it as she could manage and dangled it over the map of Greece she'd filched from the airport. Getting the location she looked off in that direction. "North. About half a mile." Shit. She hadn't realized they were that close.
He growled again looking at her with sharp eyes, snapping at her comment. "They would have been little use anyway." Hoovering behind her he watched the pendulum swing, his heart thumping slightly when she marked the location.
"Lead the way," he said holding his hands out, shoving her lightly forward. It was a way to hide the fact that his legs felt like dead weights as he stalked behind her. His obsession alone was driving him, as well as being able to smell the fresh salt water under his nose. His eyes fluttered for a moment, taking in that smell before catching up with the little witch.
"Hey!" She shot him a glare for the shove then started following the tug of the pendulum. A cigarette was lit and she grumbled under her breath. Her pack was running low and she doubted she'd get him to buy her a pack during this. Goody.
The most frustrating thing about following a pendulum is that it tends to ignore buildings and other obstacles, pulling in a straight line between where you are and what you want to find. Half a mile should have taken ten minutes...fifteen tops? They ended up taking almost forty five minutes for having to navigate the streets and pick up the trail again.
Finally, she came to a stop on the corner of an intersection. She checked the pendulum then jerked her chin towards a building across the street. "She's in there."
"Are you sure this time?" he barked, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. The night sky had turned even a darker shade of black, cloaking them in darkness aside from street lamps. He was growing restless.
His eyes fell over the building. Quite a tall order for some creep that was holding his wife hostage for money. Poseidon grabbed Mara's arm, in case she felt the need to run as they advanced closer. There were little expectations for a long struggle as no one seemed to be around. Quite the opportunity, or just really idiotic mortals.
Poseidon kicked the front door open, feeling the darkness of the building cloud over him. He stepped forward, feeling for signs of Amphitrite's power (however weak it was), but his own was fading. They stalked down the hallways slowly, his hand clasped under his coat in case he needed to whip out the gun.
There was a light upstairs when he creeped up slowly, motioning again for Mara to follow. There was the sound of whistling as one man lithe mortal man exited the bathroom. He clearly wasn't the one causing this mess, but he would die just the same. He quickly found the barrel of a gun releasing against his abdomen before his body slid to the floor. Poseidon kicked it out of the way, blue eyes searching for any other bodies to dispose of.
The gunshot had caused a faint shriek, but it hadn't been from Mara. He flipped his head behind him to make sure before plowing down the door to the room it had filtered from.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Her patience was growing thin since she was starting to run out of mystical energy keeping the pendulum going. That and his obvious lack of appreciation was getting on her nerves. She was THIS close to kicking him in the shins with her combat boots, but she kind of liked breathing without assistance and wanted to get his wife out of the hands of the assholes.
She didn't have a choice in crossing the street with him and twitched her jacket back into place once he let go. He had given her a gun of her own, but she didn't intend on using it unless she really had to. Ending up in the pokey of a foreign country would be really, really bad right now.
She didn't know what he had been planning with the guy so when Poseidon killed him she jumped a mile. "Son of a bitch, man!" She snarled at him with widened eyes. "Y'know I've heard Greek cops are a bitch, but I really don't want to find out!"
Then she was back to keeping up with him and she sighed, pulling her gun in case there was a bathroom buddy to the dead guy in the hallway.
It hadn't been when Poseidon kicked in the door that she heard anything out of the ordinary. She had been left alone. For now long, she wasn't sure. All she knew was it was dark and she had finally felt the comfort of sleep sweep over her.
For a few blissful moments she was under the warmth of the sun, just floating peacefully in the water. It was too bright for comfort but it was more welcome than anything as of late. She couldn't quite explain why. A dolphin swam up to her and lovingly nuzzled her cheek, something she seemed to think she hadn't felt in a very long time. Still, she couldn't figure out what was so strange.
A loud noise woke her. It sounded like a gunshot. Looking up from the corner she had taken cover in she stared at the door. It hadn't been her who had screamed either. It must have been one of those horrible goons. Another loud noise, but not quite as loud.
She made a sudden movement. Something was happening. This place was always so quiet apart from when he came in. And then voices. "Hello?" Her voice was still strong even if she felt weak. She was on her feet and banging on the door, though considering how weak she was it only came out as a knock.
"Help me! In here!" Who cared who it was? She wanted out.
"Shut up!" he yelled at Mara, regaining his composure. It was not the time to throw ridicule.
The second guard was the one to go, this time under Poseidon's hands once he heard Amphitrite's voice. The man struggled only for a short time before his windpipes were crushed by the angry god's hold. Shoving his gun back into his belt, Poseidon reached the door that kept Amphitrite just feet away from him.
"Off the door," he yelled again before hurling his body against it, a few good hits before it cracked open. He was out of breath, feeling his energy slipping even further. A few more grunts and shoves until the door was wide enough for him to slip through.
When he saw her there was a pause, a worried look in his eyes. She looked terrible.
Amphitrite didn't even hesitate at his command. She knew his voice better than any other and when he demanded something like this it should be heeded. So back to her usual corner of refuge, covering her head protectively in case any debris made its way to her.
She didn't look up until the pounding had stopped. She was bruised, beaten and bloody. All jewelry had been taken as 'compensation' including her wedding ring. It was the only thing she had struggled to keep and had ended up with a black eye. When she saw him there was such a relief she couldn't even express it properly.
"Poseidon," she said in such a quiet whisper she might have been the wind. But as she pulled herself up again and stumbled to him, tripping over debris and her own two feet, she cried out his name. If she had ever been happy to see him it was now.
She near fell as she came forward, Poseidon swallowed heavily feeling a knot in his throat. "Hey baby," he whispered just as soft, fingers curled into her matted hair as he looked down to her bruised face before that hand curled into a fist.
Arms slipped around her as she looked as if she could barely hold herself up. "Don't you ever think of doing this again," was his gruff warning. She knew what he meant by those words. There was something very attentive in the way he held her, she wasn't the strong woman he'd pushed around before. Seeing her like this, it hurt something awful inside.
She ignored being yelled at. Poseidon was pretty focused at the moment like a wild animal trying to get to his mate. You don't take things personally and you do NOT get in the way.
She hung back while he did a number on the door. Then she took up a watchful guard in the opening after he went in just in time to see the reunion. With her gun held by her thigh she watched with just a hint of a smile before turning her attention back out to the hallway.
Where Amphitrite would have greeted him with a welcome home kiss, she didn't even make the slightest sign of wanting to give him one. She allowed him to embrace her, yes. But other than being held up she didn't want to be touched.
In any way.
Even being called baby made her feel sick. Instead she practically curled up against him, knowing that with him she was safe. And just as suddenly as she felt that safety she realized they wouldn't be okay soon.
"He'll be back soon. He- he went out for food or something. I don't know, I couldn't hear very well. We have to get out of here." It was clear that she was starting to panic, even with Poseidon there. She gathered every bit of energy she could and tried to push him through the doorway. She still hadn't seen Mara.
Poseidon was out for blood, he wanted those men to pay, and pay very dearly. Once back out of the room, he guided her out into the hallway.
He kicked one of the dead bodies as they walked past, cocking his head to the side as he took a moment to look around, pulling his gun from out of his belt.
"Mara, get her out of here. I'll take care of this," he instructed, though it was certain in the tone of his voice how very weak he was getting. There was even a slight slouch to the usual tall and brooding water god. Everything ached inside and out, that dark cloud looming even tighter.
His eyes closed for a moment as if to will his strength back, but he honestly had none.
"On it!" She reached out to grab a hold of the woman's arm with her off hand, pulling her along as she headed for the stairs, her gun held ready.
She'd kind of like to be away from here as well. The gun shots would have been heard so who knew how far out the cops were and she really didn't like feeling this twitchy without her magic to back her up. She doesn't want to rely on her necromancer. It's hard to explain why there's a corpse or five wandering the streets.
Amphitrite stared at Poseidon, "What? No, you're coming with-" And that's when she realized there was someone else there and turned to look at Mara.
She was already being dragged away and Amphitrite wanted to demand Poseidon came too. "Who are you? Let go of me! He's coming with us!" She was still panicking, which was bad for her because Amphitrite rarely panicked. She did try to fight free of Mara's grip but even just that small contact was too strong for her. If she wasn't careful she might pass out from the struggle.
"There's no time for introductions," he answered stiffly, following behind them down the stairs. It was then that his footing fumbled a bit on that last step but he kept himself from looking down or hitting the floor. There was something terribly wrong and he couldn't get a grip on what it was, the room was starting to spin.
He looked at Mara albeit confused, shaking it off and heading towards the door, not fast enough before the men who had kept Amphitrite there showed up. The handsome stranger almost had a amused look on his face once he realized, seizing Amphitrite's arm.
"Mr. Money Banks actually showed up himself, well isn't this impressive." Poseidon didn't give him a chance to utter another word before decking him in the face, forcing him off Amphitrite. The hit while forceful was returned by the other man square in his face, knocking Poseidon on his back. He rolled over, staggering to get up. His gun had flown out of his hand and kicked aside.
"Where's the cash?" the creep asked, rubbing his sore jaw. Poseidon laughed lunging towards him again until two other men grabbed either arm and held him back.
"GET OFF ME!" He yelled compelling with his mind to get the waters nearby to obey his command, but nothing came. Why wasn't it working?
"..shit!" She cringed feeling the curse give a pulse of energy through her just before Poseidon's foot slipped. It left her a bit dazed just as the heap big Douchebags came through the door. She didn't recover in time to keep a hold of Poseidon's wife, the second guy shoving her back away. "Fuck!"
The back of her head hit the wall and an arm was across her throat. This seemed familiar and since she still had a bump from when Poseidon put her against the wall of the building the addition to the bruise did nothing to clear her head.
She heard some arguing and the unmistakable sound of a gun skidding across the floor before she felt the arm let up on her throat. Douche Two was distracted. Good. All she had to do was lift her knee abruptly and she was free as the genius was suddenly backing away holding the more intelligent part of his body and groaning.
She pulled up the gun, pointing it at the jackass as she double stepped it to Amphitrite, grabbing onto her again. "Let's go!"
"HEY!" the stranger said seeing his hostage out of his grip again. He was distracted now by the big guy they had, the one they really wanted. The guy that was more than loaded with enough money.
Poseidon struggled against their grip, feeling as if his energy, any power he had negated in that moment and for what reason he wasn't sure. The third guy came along (four had walked into the door) pulling at Poseidon's feet to where three of them had him lifted up off the floor. Much too big of a guy to drag.
Much of what played out now seemed to be like a change of course. He was the immortal, the god, they were nothing. There were no police coming around in sight despite the struggle, everything was off kilter. He wasn't aware that Mara's curse had taken effect throwing him into the arms of dangerous men who wouldn't have a leg up on him otherwise. That in combination with his weakened state only made it possible, and Poseidon was pissed.
"Get her out of here, NOW!" he yelled at Mara. At least Amphitrite would be out of their grip, he could care less what happened to him.
Shit! There were more of them!
The curse pulsed through her again pulling a growl from her as the world spun for a moment but she kept a grip on Amphitrite and her gun. She didn't want to shoot blindly and the bad guys had a hold of Poseidon anyway. She didn't want to hit him, not with that much chaos charging out of her.
Her eyes cleared just as Poseidon shouted at her and she grimaced. She didn't want to leave him to this. It was her fault, but if she stayed it would only just get worse. "...fuck!"
Her lips tighteneed and she fired a couple of shots up the stairs nowhere near them if only to make them duck for a moment then bolted out the door dragging Amphritite with her. "C'mon, princess! We're out of here!"
12:00 A.M.
With the curse looming, cloaking him like a dark veil, Poseidon had little control of what would be done to him. Three men carried him in the air, flat on his back up the stairs to the same room that Amphitrite had been held captive.
These men while amateur in their attempts wanted nothing more than to be sure this Dorian Rubis gave them what they wanted. Money. A petty reason. They didn't want him dead, but wanted to be sure he didn't go back on his word. They'd already dealt with his woman, a low blow, but an effective one.
They removed his coat, his shirt, tying his arms behind his back. He was thrown face down on the bed, gun placed to the back of his head. He could smell it, Amphitrite, muddled by the heavy stench of the man who'd dared to lay a finger on her.
The man railed the gun across the bedpost. "Fine piece of work, your wife." He said with a grin, pleased with himself obviously. Poseidon growled kicking his legs to flip himself over. Once he was eye to eye with the mortal he found a gun hilt smacked against the side of his head which thew him to the floor. There was no energy, he couldn't find an ounce of power in his system.
12:35 A.M
"All this for money," Poseidon laughed. "Fool. I don't care how much you want, you're going to drown on your own spit when I'm through with you."
"And what are you going to do about it?" the man waved a gun in his face again before punching Dorian in the gun. "You're pathetic. Just like every other washed up husband with his finger up his own ass." There was no way they were going to let this captive loose until he was broken enough, scared enough. If they only knew who they were dealing with.
Poseidon laughed manically, and he didn't stop causing the man to kick and shove his fists against the water god's muscles in various places.
2:00 A.M.
Over the course of two hours every inch of his body was hit, bruises popping up against his chest and back, a few fractures, cigarette burns to his back--all only flesh wounds and something Poseidon laughed at every time. It wasn't until the early hours Saturday morning that he started to feel a regain in his strength. A flicker of power, but enough that he could stand on his own two feet again and kick the living shit out of the men he could get to before loosening the ropes that had burned around his wrists.
The same rope which was wrapped around each one of their scrawny necks until the air was sucked dry from their throats. At the same time that he was exacting his revenge, he didn't have any idea that Mara would be re-entering the scene.
Mara had expected more of a fight from Amphritite to get her away. Apparently the wife of the water god wasn't pretty bad off. That didn't mean she wasn't demanding, though. Amphritite insisted on getting to the water and Mara didn't really feel like making an issue of it.
Turned out there was a pretty good reason for it since the woman jumped into the water as soon as she could then didn't come back up. Of course a wounded spouse of a water god wanted to be in water to heal up. The heel of Mara's hand smacked her forehead before she shook her head and went to look for a place nearby to hole up.
A few hours later Amphritite showed back up and looked seriously pissed off. Mara couldn't blame her, really. She'd been a victim pretty much her entire existence. Now they just had to go get Poseidon back.
Mara gave the woman the gun she'd brought. She had her own idea on a weapon and it wouldn't involve firearms. Besides, Amphritite got first shot at these guys in Mara's opinion. She wouldn't get in the way.
Amphitrite, while not entirely healed and at her full strength, felt a million times better. Wounds were still there and would take some time to heal, but there was a fire in her eyes that suggested not to mess with her. She didn't even bother asking Mara any questions about who she was or where she came from. She had her own suspicions as to how she knew Poseidon but that wasn't the focus.
When they finally left for the house her hair was pulled back to show a spectacular black eye and several other bruises on her neck and face. She didn't even care that she looked like hell. There was something to be done and she would kill anyone who got in her way.
She had pocketed the gun, only drawing it out when they were at the houses door- the way she held it suggested this wasn't the first time she'd handled a gun. The last time she entered she had been forced in. Now she would force all but one occupant to do her bidding. She could still feel Poseidon's presence, confirming he was inside.
And just her luck, they were home because the door was unlocked. Unlike Poseidon she didn't go barging into places by kicking the door down. She was quieter and more elusive than that. The way she moved around the entrance also suggested she had done this before. Sneaky little sea queen.
Mara was impressed a bit with the princess. She didn't ask any awkward questions of her which meant Mara didn't have to get into a pointless argument that did nothing but waste their time.
She kicked in her necromancy looking for anyone hanging out who might be willing to kick some butt. She should have known. This was an old country with a lot of spirits of those who died before they were ready either from war or rivalry. She had a few volunteers. They followed her and the princess back to the house. She wouldn't be able to control them but that wasn't her problem.
She let the princess take the lead, the ghosts right behind. Mara muttered as they went in. "No mercy. Hit them hard and fast."
If Amphitrite stopped to consider anything else going on around her her focus on beating the hell out of those guys would have faltered. So what if Poseidon had been treating her increasingly worse of the last century? He had also treated her well and he was the only person who protected her now. Or maybe the only one allowed to.
She made no sign that she'd heard Mara's words, if they had even been for her. There was no question as to whether Amphitrite would lead or follow and she appreciated this unknown woman for it, though she didn't say so.
If only she had a silencer, this would have been so much easier. But as she looked around another corner she saw one of the guards. Without hesitation she took aim and shot him square in the back of the head. No time for a double tap. And that seemed to draw attention so she didn't hesitate gunning down any others that showed up.
She was out for blood.
Grabbing his shirt and coat and flinging them on quickly Poseidon stumbled out of the room into the hallway. He may have had enough strength to pull himself up, get in a few hits, but he was still weak from excursions long before Mara's curse had taken effect; and these douche bags were playing it to their advantage.
He'd just rounded the corner when the genius of this operation jumped out at him. The two men fists, knees and feet flying out for contact. One wrong hit and the other man grabbed hold of his foot dragging the large god back down on his back. Poseidon kicked again, this time getting back on his fit and wrapping his hands around the man's neck. He wasn't up for playing the mercy card.
The man struggled, pushing at the afflicting hands, he needed to act fast and quick to get out of this grip. Whipping out a knife from his pocket and flicking it open he lodged it into Dorian's upper leg. It was enough to distract the weak god and land another punch to the face before they both went tumbling down the stairs.
A dead body was one more thing she could use so she crouched by the body of the douche bag stupid enough to get in their way and shoved her necromancy into him. It was always easier to raise the dead when they were this fresh especially so the body got to his feet easily and looked to her for instruction.
She pointed at Amphritite as she glowered at the zombie. "Keep her alive at all costs." It sneered and went to follow the princess as Mara stumbled a little, propping herself up against the wall. This using powers outside of America shit was beginning to become a pain in the ass!
Amphitrite was a little confused by Mara's words so when she turned to see who she was speaking to she was shocked by what she saw. So that's what this woman could do. Well, she had to admit it was really helpful right now. As long as they didn't turn on Amphitrite. With any luck they couldn't swim if she and Poseidon had to escape that way.
Swim.
Of course. Even though her powers with the sea was lesser she could still call the waters. It was a nice advantage of being sea queen. They were close enough that if she absolutely had to she would call the waters. For now their goal was getting Poseidon and putting a bullet in a few mortal heads.
She heard the scuffling and started back toward the room she had been taken from. As much as she wanted to sprint there and get it over with it was so much better to be patient and quiet. So as she looked around the final corner and saw just who Poseidon was fighting a look of rage came over her and without hesitation she shot the main goon. It struck his right leg, close enough to its intended target.
"HEY JACKASS" When he turned, screaming and in pain from the gun wound Amphitrite pulled the trigger and shot him in the face.
Poseidon had landed on the floor, back shoved against the wall, suddenly able to feel every infliction upon his body. It hurt to move, but he pulled the knife from his leg anyway thrashing it to the side. In olden days their blood used to run ichor, which wasn't blood at all. Fatal to mortals, golden in color, but now as their power became limited so did their blood.
Pushing himself up the wall, using it as leverage Poseidon was back on his feet just as he heard Amphitrite pull her trigger. His eyes cut over in concern. He'd told Mara to get them out not come back to play heroines.
The zombie followed Amphitrite just as ordered and the ghosts were having a blast playing poltergeists. That covered Mara went over to Poseidon to stay out of the way and get the water god to his feet.
She frowned for the look on his face. "I don't care how pissed you are. You and her are made for each other when it comes to attitudes, y'know. Now get up. You're too big for me to carry, and I'm not taking a zombie into the street."
"You didn't listen to me," he barked back standing tall even though his nerves pulsated with that jabbing pain. "I said I'd handle this."
Between the three of them there was a massacre at their feet. His eyes shot over to Amphitrite, very much the feisty little bitch he'd taken as a wife. Her eyes were as cold as his own.
The waters churned from the shore just outside, whether from Poseidon or Amphitrite; perhaps both ready to alleviate the world of this evidence. "Let's go!" he instructed harshly pulling his coat around his chest. There was a horrible mix of emotions going on.
"Yeah and you were doing such a great job of it, obviously." She pushed against him, making sure he was on stable footing and grumbled about not being appreciated. "And I don't listen to anyone so don't feel so special."
She glared over towards the fight. Her zombie was down but the ghosts were still doing good. "Hey, Princess! We got a boat to catch!"
Amphitrite glowered at him but said nothing. Like she was just going to sit back and let him get killed. But even as cold as her eyes were she didn't seem to have any desire to touch him.
Instead, she let Mara help him and followed a few steps behind. Something was different about her and chances were Poseidon wouldn't like it.
He felt it that difference in her demeanor. He'd expected her to come to his side and yet she held back. It pissed him off even more. No one had dared to touch her in all these years, she hadn't dared. She was tainted and it did something to him. He'd thrown himself to her rescue but perhaps too late. He wanted to scream at her.
Arm braced around Mara's shoulder he loomed over her keeping his feet from giving out from under him, that knife having left a nasty crutch. It was still dusk when they came out of the house, those sea waters crashing against the shore just as Poseidon closed his eyes dropping to the ground on his back.
He was worn out.
Shit he was heavy! She missed a step trying to match his and felt her ankle give. Cursing under her breath she ignored it and kept on. She knew the princess wouldn't help. It wasn't her fault. Mara knew how this dance went and wished her luck with getting Poseidon to understand.
Getting to the airport would be up to her apparently, but she tried to glance back to Amphritite anyway. "Phone's in my back pocket. See if you can get us a taxi to the airport while I keep laughing boy here on his feet."
They were so connected that she could feel his anger. It didn't help that he looked so angry. She just didn't want to touch another man, not even Poseidon, for a very long time. Even if he wouldn't hurt her it still scared the hell out of her.
She didn't argue and found Mara's phone. She even made a little smirk at the laughing boy comment. Had she been her usual self she would have said something in return. She dialed information and got a hold of the first cab company she could find. Seconds later she was rambling in Greek. She sounded almost angry but there was a tone of panic still there. She hung up, "We'll wait here. They'll be here in a few minutes." She finally knelt down toward Poseidon and pushed back every ounce of fear she felt, running her fingers gently through his hair. It was the best he'd get for now. "We'll be back soon. I'm getting you an in-home nurse. I don't trust hospitals." It was the most she'd spoken so far.
He could hear her voice, something in it broken. Poseidon swallowed heavily, taking a deep breath in and exhaling. He couldn't look at her right now as much as she couldn't touch him. His head turned to the side, watching the water with washed out blue eyes.
The sea was talking to him, he closed his eyes again to let it soothe so he could get himself back off the ground. This was once their home, devoid of any modern machinery, buildings or surroundings. So far had they come from that time, though mortals then knew their place. He was more powerful then. This wouldn't have happened then.
A bitter-sweet reunion that he wished he'd forgone if he was forced to deal with this. He wasn't going to.
After five minutes he sat up straight giving Amphitrite the first sympathetic look since finding her again. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go down. She was supposed to be dragged back kicking and screaming, feisty, ready to have a throw down.
He wanted his Amphitrite back, not the skittish girl he'd gotten in return.
She watched this exchange quietly, sliding to the ground with her back against something as she felt gingerly at her ankle. It wasn't broken which was good. Better was that it was swelling. It'd give her some support. Not the right kind of support, but any port in a storm.
She huffed quietly for Amphritite's distrust of hospitals. She knew a pretty good doctor, actually, that they both could trust. "..like to see you say that to the angel.."She really doubted either of them were going to listen to her, though.
GOD she needed a cigarette!
She looked almost angry that he had looked away, yet at the same time she didn't want him to look at her. And then she heard it. The sea. She breathed deeply. It was something she missed and those few short hours were nothing more than bittersweet. She could have left then, back in the place she belonged. But Poseidon had needed her. It was a comfort to them both.
The real kicker was when he looked back at her. The look on his face was unexpected and she would have expected rage or annoyance. Not sympathy. She felt ashamed and looked down, and yet her hand remained right there stroking his hair. Sympathy was rare when it came to Poseidon. Something that Amphitrite would hold onto as tightly as possible.
Whatever Mara had muttered was disregarded, mainly because she hadn't caught it. But it was true on her part. She wouldn't let an angel touch her. Ever.
Everything was quiet. Far too quiet for the water god. He wasn't calm at all and found little reason to be so. His moment of sympathy was shaken when the taxi pulled up, pushing back any other affectionate tone for the trip home.
He wanted to force Amphitrite into his arms, remind her of just how significant he was but there was a sort of lackluster feeling between them. He wanted more than just her hand after what he been forced through, but she needed something out of him that was far to rare for him to focus on.
The cab ride was just as silent, the further he got away from the ocean, the more his anger brewed again as if the feeling it had given him before was crushed. The water had started to flow over the edge slipping towards that house as they rode off, after that he was too far away to control it. He had come with a purpose and it was finished. Now at the airport there was a small wait before boarding. Poseidon found himself sitting opposite to Amphitrite than beside her. With Mara there there was some ease, but Poseidon was letting his emotions control him, just as unpredictable as the ocean waters.
Watching these two play ring around the emotional elephant was enough to make Mara want to slap them both. Seriously. Nobody ever appreciated the things they had. Ever! The problem was she could understand both sides. Her own sympathy of course made her want to slap herself. She was going to get nothing but a whole lot of pain out of this and here she was empathizing with them.! Fucking angels!
She pretty much kept to herself through the cab ride then through the airport, saving her energy for bewitching the security staff one last time so she could get home. Why she wanted to get home so bad was beyond her, other than getting her energy back.
Amphritite fell asleep not long after take off and she glanced at Poseidon. There were things he probably needed to know about what to expect from his wife over the next few months. Mara knew from experience and once again she shot off a few well chosen curses at God for putting her into this position.
She got up from her chair and went to slide into one closer to Poseidon. "Hey."
Poseidon had just closed his eyes when he felt the seat beside him shuffle causing him to look over. For a moment, and one moment only he glanced over to the sleeping Amphitrite, resting his elbow on the arm of the seat.
"Hey," he voiced gruffly, clearing his throat. He was being as quiet as the little wife. Too many horrible emotions surfacing and dancing around in his head.
Yeah well both their worlds just got turned on their head. Mara wasn't surprised either of them were being gruffly and defensive.
She tucked a boot under her and leaned on the arm of the chair. She needed to keep her voice down about this, not wanting anyone else on the plane involved in any way. "Look, I know you're Captain Badass Water God and all that, but you can't be all badass on her when you get her alone, all right? She doesn't need to be scared of someone who cares for her and that's going to be pretty easy after what she's been through. Scared of you that is."
His eyes were sharp at her points. To the usual outsider Poseidon was nothing more than a domineering husband who only held his wife as a trophy. True to form, she was more than that.
How unusual this was now that he was thrown with what he'd done to countless others in the face of his wife. "I've done as much before to others," he made no bones about that. He paused in his speech, hand to mouth. "It's different with her." He didn't want her scared of him, nor did he want to handle being any different than he was usually with her. "I don't like seeing her like this."
She wasn't too keen on the fact that he'd done the same thing to other women. She frowned and bit back on the first thing that came to mind: Karma's a bitch, huh. There was potentially an opportunity here and she knew it. God's getting an earful from her at the moment and she keeps expecting some little old lady to turn around and ask her if she kisses her mother with that mouth.
"Do you think the husbands or boyfriends of those others liked seeing their wives or girlfriends like this?" She watched him closely for his reaction. He wasn't going to get away without having something to think on.
It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but it was something he needed to hear. Poseidon took and took what he wanted, but was never satisfied. It was a bitch that he was being shoved face down into this, just as those four goons had done in that house when they'd shoved him onto the bed that Amphitrite had been on. His nosed had been filled with it, the reminder, it only made him angry.
His hand moved away from his mouth, uncrossing his legs, but still not able to get comfortable in the seat. He still said nothing. What was there to say when it was true?
She wasn't one of those stupid angels to press the advantage and make him squirm. It wouldn't do either of them any good to piss him off entirely. She made her point there so she leaves it alone.
"Just be easy with her for the next little while and let her come to you." She arched a brow and couldn't help but smirk. "Probably about as easy as telling you to not breathe, I'm sure."
It was Poseidon that had pursued Amphitrite the first time. Poseidon that had trapped her in a proposal that she really couldn't say no to, he would have continued even if she'd rejected him.
To tell him to let her come to him was like losing his focus on something as normal as breathing. "How long is a little while?" he asked some snark in his voice, though deep and demanding as ever.
Standard question when it came to this shit. They never did get it. She wasn't surprised but she did approve of the fact that he was apparently listening. She wouldn't draw attention to it, though. He'd probably dump her out the airlock.
"Depends on her." She did go far enough to give him a bit of a sympathetic smirk as she shrugged a shoulder. "Some people get through it faster than others. Some never make it. But you switching from Captain Badass to Mister Sensative will go a long way to helping her heal quicker."
He was glad she left it alone he was libel to choke her if she failed to see that. Poseidon wasn't going to take hits from a woman he still barely knew anything about, not when he was this wreck.
"I'm not exactly a teddy bear," he said with a snort, a very truthful statement. Though, seeing Amphitrite in this situation had pulled out a far more meaningful side to the tyrant god.
"No kidding." That came out before she could censor herself and she chuckled softly to take the edge off of it.
"I'm not trying to suggest you change that much." She got a wry smirk on her face as she pushed her hair back. "God, she'd think I put a spell on ya or made you possessed. Start simple like not making any demands on her. No 'you are my wife'." She did a lousy imitation of his voice. "Switch gears a little and starting thinking in terms of you're her husband."