Xander Christopoulos+Percy Jackson (followyourgut) wrote in thereincarnates, @ 2017-06-10 00:03:00 |
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Entry tags: | luciana serafini, xander christopoulos |
WHO: Xander and Lux
WHAT: Xander is reaping what he sowed and Lux might help him out a little
WHERE: New York City
WHEN: Early Friday evening
It was a nice day. That was supposed to be the most striking thing about it. The sun had been out all day without a single cloud in the sky (which also meant that Zeus wasn't having a hissy fit), the temperature was a little hot but it was better than the low temperatures that had been happening practically every other day for the past month, and it was a stark contrast to the past two weeks when it had felt like the flood coming for Noah's arc. Xander was determined to enjoy it, even if you couldn't exactly call the air in the city "fresh air." For someone who grew up in California, he liked to think he'd acclimated well to the New York lifestyle. It was mostly thanks to Percy's familiarity, but Xander liked to believe that he'd learned quickly on his own when he was seventeen and started living in Camp Half-Blood.
He'd needed to eat, and since he still wasn't good at the whole eating-like-an-adult thing, his solution had been to get a hot dog from one of the street vendors. His plan was to get it and eat it right there on the sidewalk away from the threat of Blackjack stealing it like he enjoyed doing. He had been wandering around alone from the time he got off of work. It didn't usually bother him to be on his own in the city; he was just as comfortable by himself as he was with other people, and most people were too caught up in their own lives to notice a guy in his twenties walking around by himself. Plus? It was the perfect way to let his mind wander. There were so many things to capture the attention from a person with ADHD, and it was mostly okay. It wasn't like he was doing training--the Camelot or camp version.
He wasn't expecting anything to happen, which was his first mistake. After pissing Hades off (again), he should have been on high alert for her retribution. Hades didn't take kindly to being threatened, which both he and Percy had experience with. He knew that eventually she was going to get him back for what he'd said; she pretty much said as much during their conversation. Xander had kind've been expecting something more thought-out and nuanced, the way her whole plot to frame him had been. He wasn't expecting an outright attack. That was more Zeus's style. And Ares's. They were hot heads, while Hades... Hades stewed in it. Even when he was trying to steal the lightning bolt from Percy, he was more thoughtful.
It had been subtle, what alerted him to the presence of something nefarious nearby. A prickling on the back of his neck like somebody was watching him. He hadn't even gotten the hot dog halfway to his mouth before he'd frozen, Percy's battle instincts kicking in as his muscles tensed. People had stopped walking to stare at something, so Xander turned around, and then immediately ducked. The hot dog was dropped and forgotten as he tucked into a roll that caused him to barely miss taking a pair of claws to the chest. He shifted into a crouch, his eyes trained on the flying monster. Harpy. Great.
It didn't take him long to realize that there were three of them. While he was focused on watching the one who'd nearly ripped into him, he suddenly felt something forceful crash into his back, causing him to go sprawling face-first onto the sidewalk. His back stung, but he ignored it in order to immediately get back up, his eyes finally scanning around to take in how big the threat was. He took out Riptide as quickly as possible, the celestial bronze sword growing to full length. People were screaming and running, just as scared of him as they were of the monsters. He wasn't sure what the mist was showing them, but whatever it was was terrifying.
"Seriously?" He groaned to himself, taking a swipe as the third one attempted to sink her claws into him. It was enough to force her to retreat from him just enough that he had some breathing room. One he was confident he could take on alone, but three? Even a great demigod would have difficulties with that. I think this might be at least part of our punishment. "Yeah. No kidding." He muttered, barely dodging another attack. "Got anything more useful, or are we going to spend this time stating the obvious?"