[closed/complete] Characters: Hera [luwalhati] & Sigyn [sigyny] Date/Time: Rome before Gladiator times backdated because Tea is a failboat Location: Outside the temple, about the city. Rating: PG Warnings: None! Summary: Hera and Sigyn have family chats.
Sigyn wanted to get drunk and stay that way until one, she was back in NYC or two, at least her family was not all in pieces. However, those were not apparent possibilities no matter how much booze was consumed. Not that she was drunk yet, she was just planning on it, but her mother had raised her to be a polite girl and it was rude to get started before everyone arrived. Or not everyone, but her mother.
And these clothing were damn inconvenient, she kept making sure no lose ends just...flapped open. At least she wasn't married to some random stranger, and it made her feel oddly faithful towards Heimdall. Ignoring the fuzzy warm feelings towards him, she instead pushed her hair back and stood on the marble steps on the college. When she got home, she was also going to do a ton of shopping.
With a retinue of servants trailing behind her carriage, Lena arrived at the college to take Katie away. And possibly not return her - what could the virgins possibly do to her that she could not thwart? If none of this was real, she had nothing to worry about.
Not that the fantastical nature of the place prevented her from soaking up her new familial connections. She had missed her siblings far more than she'd let on. She loved the Blackwells, she truly did, but in each of them she saw Patrick more than she saw herself. Even in Katie, there was so much of her husband. It was why she treasured Drake so dearly, called her siblings every week - they were hers. They had loved her in a time when she was only Lena Cosimo, a time Lena sometimes and with no lack of shame found herself wanting to return to.
Waving these concerns away, she peered out of the window. "Darling," she said, once her eyes had fell upon her beautiful daughter. "Do come in - it's terrible for your skin to be waiting out in the sun."
There was a sense of doom over her parents. Now more than ever it felt like her father and mother were seeing things from such different places. Would it eventually end up with her getting step-parents? She hoped no, never. It was...an unthinkable scenario but not an impossible. Fortunately while in Rome... things went on as usual. At least there would be no breaking up the family while here. In truth, had Sigyn known her mother saw more of her father than her, she'd be rather hurt. Aubrey loved her parents unconditionally, and she shifted from mommy to daddy's girl depending on the day. "Mom!"
There was the sound of her sandalled feet as she got to her feet and launched herself at the woman that had just arrived. Even if it was awkward from this angle. "You came." Of course it seemed obvious that she would, but Sigyn still felt a flush of gratitude as she moved to enter the carriage and settle in away from the sun. "I can't stay out long but..." A shrug.
The hug was accepted with all the warmth in Lena's heart. For now, the insecurities and hesitations disappeared. Her daughter was here; she was safe. That was all that counted.
"Then we'll make the best of what we have," Lena declared, handing Sigyn a wine glass. Well, not exactly a wine glass. The glass was thicker, less refined than that of modern day. Lena signaled to the driver, who in turn called for one of the foot servants. The servant filled both Katie's and Lena's glasses before the carriage continued on its merry way. Surely, a round about the perimeter would not be too long for these vestal virgins.
"Do they treat you well in there, Katie?"
"Yes, it is mostly looking after things- tending to a fire." Sigyn gave a shrug, "Apparently after thirty years we can marry. Why would you wait so long?" She dropped her head against the side - resting her forehead against one of the pillars that was holding up the curtains of the carriage. "Oh, you picked some good wine." Apparently the prospect of drinking had cheered her up completely despite the fact she was banned from having sex with her boyfriend.
"What about you mom, how is everything? I mean, your...husband. Do you have children?" She tried not to sound or look jealous but... well, she wasn't quite successful about it. Sometimes, Sigyn felt inadequate about who she was.
"Your ovas are not looking in great shape if you delay child-rearing so long." After a sip of wine, Lena realised that might have been a little too much, even for her daughter. She was happy to cling to the next issue - "Isn't it? Apparently, a sibling of mine is a banker, and somehow that connects to my knowing an amazing vineyard." She wasn't about to complain about that - at least not right now, when wine was likely her only recourse from the ongoing craziness.
"He's a gladiator." So it was more than likely she would not actually get to know anything about him, or even see him face to face. Which wasn't exactly an issue with her - it just made being faithful to Patrick a lot easier. (Not that the asshole deserved it.) "I have a daughter, a cute little blonde thing. My entire family is actually very blonde - I have..." She did a mental count - Nathan, Jake, Katherine, Alex - "Four siblings. Again. It would appear I am doomed to hopelessly large families."
But Lena hadn't failed to catch the note of hesitation in Katie's voice. She raised a hand to cup Katie's cheek, tucking a few stray strands of brown hair. "But none of them mean as much to me as you do, darling. Don't you forget that." Denver came close, and could have come to par had there been memories to back their supposed relationship, but alas, Khaos had not succeeded in that this time around.
"I don't think I can-" Sigyn's words faltered when her mother touched her cheek and she smiled weakly at her. Yeah, Lena was her mother, but Sigyn was used to such a big family it was easy to be overshadowed. Frankly her aunts were terrifying and bamf, as was her mother. Her cousins or second-cousins were strong, leadership-type individuals. Sigyn was young, lost, even being around Gavin's age- well. Pan has a strong personality, he was... he was himself. There was something strong in him that wouldn't allow him to get lost in things. On the other hand, she?
The closest she ever felt to being something on her own with Jim and that was not quite right either. You had to be your own person first, without an other. Forge your own path, not get lost in someone elses' footsteps. "Sorry. I just." Sigyn shrugged, "I wish we weren't in this mess, that we were home and..." Well things could never be what they were before thanks to Khaos.
"I'm glad you have a big family though, it is kind of awesome to have so many people about, isn't it?" Despite any misgiving she had, Sigyn did love her family. Being a Blackwell was like being in a pantheon on of its own.
"We'll have to be sent home soon." At least, that was what she had inferred from previous occasions. The maze had ended, the visions of perfection had done so as well. Given that, the words were not entirely empty. "I promise this nightmare has an ending."
Not that it was actually a nightmare for Lena. Truth be told, the freedom from Patrick was doing wonders for her. Wonders that would eventually be reduced to dust come the battles week, but for now, this dream was not quite yet a nightmare. For now. "It is. Though most of them are gladiators." Maud and Reza as well - at least that she'd divined so far. Still, Lena saw better to shelter Katie than to worry her needlessly. Let her daughter be safe and unaware in her College. But then... would she really prefer that Katie was blindsided?
There was some visible hesitation as Lena took yet another sip of her wine - perhaps more an undignified gulp than a delicate sip. She could not help it - just the thought of her family members in trouble - old and new - was enough to ruin her tenuous conviction that this was not entirely unpleasant. (Truly, 'for now' was such an ephemeral thing.)
Sigyn shifted a little, avoiding the eyes of her mother, but still reached out for her hand, however, Sigyn seemed to think better of it and instead took a big sip of her own wine. Her mother had such good taste, it was rather delicious. Very strong, Sigyn would return home very, very drunk. That was fine though, it wasn't like being a Vestal was too interesting anyway. "Don't you think, mom, that every time something like this happens a little bit of more chips away? That we're losing something important every time we die? Even if people come back." Life and death were not things to be played with, there would be serious consequences one day for this.
"I hope your family makes it out alive and unharmed as much as possible." It was weird to think of others as her mother's family only.
"As long as we stay strong and pull ourselves together, that bitch can't take anything away from us," Lena pressed, the alcohol already beginning to take its course. Of course, what did she know? False deaths and false lives, none of these were understood by the woman who had only recently been thrust into a world of power and mystery. Or, to her understanding, a world of mental instability and mass delusions.
"Thank you, sweetie." Another moment of hesitation, before Lena steeled herself to bite the bullet, adding softly, "Our family, Katie. Maud and Reza, they..."
Mental instability and mass delusions sounded about right. Sigyn would agree entirely with that, frankly she didn't know what to think at times. Maybe she ought to break up with Jim... or Heimdall as he thought of himself. The thought was dismissed as soon as it passed, she did like Jim too much, delusions or not. The mention of the other Blackwells had her sitting up, "...Are they okay?" Then again, if anyone would be okay... Maud, Reza and Emilia ranked on the top. They were very scary women. Scary women Sigyn would never want to have against her. "Did something happen?"
It wasn't like the temple got a lot of daily news after all.
"They'll be fighting as well," Lena finished quietly, watching Sigyn carefully for any adverse reactions.
"I have not heard about Jim," she added, after a moment of thought. "But... you should be open to the possibility that he might also be fighting."
Sigyn flinched at that, "I'm sorry." Because what else could she say? She wasn't in a position to help anyone else. "But, I mean, they're tough right? If anyone can win- it'll be them. I mean, really." She pressed her lips together, then took a sip of wine- a very very large sip. More like a gulp really. Oh dear God.
"He...he said yeah." Sigyn downed another large gulp of wine, "Haha, you know I always wonder if I should call him Heimdall or Jim." Nothing like a change of topic abruptly to avoid thinking more depressing thoughts. "I mean, really."
"You have nothing to apologise for, darling," Lena asserted, immediately reaching for Sigyn's unoccupied hand. She nodded as Sigyn emphasised the Blackwell women's strength. "They will be strong, and we must be strong in believing in them."
And then another topic. "Call him whatever," she said. "As long as he comes to you every time."
Sometimes, sometimes Sigyn felt lost in terms of her family. All of them (her mother included) were kind of... well. Badass. Sigyn was mellow, lost and at times lacking direction. So the fact Hera was trying to push her into a clearer path was good. Sigyn felt the colour in her cheeks change, and she coughed before giving her mom's hand a squeeze. "Sometimes I get the feeling he doesn't see me, but someone else." It was hard to describe the feeling, like he suddenly... well, he liked her but now it seemed he liked her more.
Sigyn couldn't understand why. "...You and dad are never going to be okay, are you?" At least the familiar topics made the jarring environment they were in seem more distant.
Lena knew there were a lot of insecurities her daughter battled, so it did not occur to her that Heimdall might perceive Katie as one of those people. To Lena's understanding, Jim saw all the good things about Katie that Katie did not see in herself, so she only gave a knowing smile at Sigyn's statement.
She might've gone on to say something, but those words were never to exist as Katie asked about Lena's relationship with Patrick. Smile straining somewhat, Lena reassured: