Aquatic Symphony {Edmund}

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Another day at the lake, it was her home and she was going to enjoy spending all of her free time here. Last night had been an unusually calm night for her so she was in a very happy and shipper mood today. Not once during the night had she gotten a nightmare about that last battle. Watching her friend die left a scar on her. Slowly she was healing but it would still be a long time. It was why she came to the lake, not only was it home but it was a place she could some and talk to her father at and hope that he was listening.

That morning she looked through her clothes and found an aqua blue dress and pulled it on. This one was her favorite and she enjoyed wearing it. Grabbing the matching ribbon she tied it into a bow in her hair then grabbed her ring and slipped it on. On her way out of her room she grabbed her violin case and made her way out to her normal spot on the rock that hung over the water. Kneeling down she opened the case and pulled her violin out. It was time for her practice. Lucky no one was around right now.

Her mind started to focus as she looked over the water holding her violin in her left hand and her bow in her right. A small smile on her lips as she looked to the sky. “Father, I hope you’re listening and proud of me. I know we’ve never met but one day I am hoping that we do meet.” Her eyes closed as she pulled the violin up into position and smiled. “This one is for you, I hope you like it.”

Keeping her eyes closed she pulled her bow up to the strings and started to play. Today she was playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. This was another one of her favorite pieces that her mother made her practice over and over until she had gotten it right. As she played she focused on the water allowing a ribbon to come up and start dancing around her as she played. As she played faster the water moved faster and continued to dance as if it had a life of its own. When she was done the water settled back into place and she opened her eyes once again. She was getting better at focusing on two things and this proved it. Soon she would be able to fully control the water as she played.

Kneeling back down she put her violin and bow away then locked the case. Once everything was nice and neat she slipped her heels off and sat down allowing her feet to hang over the edge and soak in the water.

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because you're already d e a d In all the ways that matter No night could be described as calm to Edmund Simons. The last, true, natural "calm night" had been on March 24, 2005. Any other night described as "calm" had been induced by either medicine or Warlow (now Rogers). He couldn't even pin down his definition of a "calm" night. Wait. What was "calm", even? Last time he remembered, in its most literal definition, calm was described as some thing that put a person, more or less, at peace. Something that calmed their heart rate down or made them relax. Then again, what was relaxation? A foreign word to a forge worker, traitor, and former first cohort member. Staying up late? Not having many people in the forge? Not getting jumped? Nights on the rooftop? No dreams? Good dreams? (Then again, he almost never had those.) Besides, the whole "calm" thing did seem a bit overrated. Edmund had just spent another sleepless night up on he Rogers's rooftop. Sleepless, minus the few minute catnaps that had snuck up on him. Edmund had never been a great sleeper, but the past threE years had just made him worse (if possible). Not sleeping had become less of a habit and more of something that helped him keep his sanity. Logical? No, not at all. Sleep was a human necessity. Eleven days without it and you were dead. A few days and you started hallucinating. Not enough hours and you mimicked being drunk. Guess that made him slightly intoxicated on no sleep every day, but he had learned how to function. Silence, sleep deprivation, and nothing nice: that's what former first cohort, traitor Edmund Simons is made of. On this particular day, Edmund found himself wandering down to the lake. He hadn't been there since his (embarrassing) chat with Venus. Stupid emotions. Then again, he had kind of been a train wreck on that particular day. When wasn't he? Just... Most days he was good at hiding it. But now it should've been better. Felicity was back. Josh was back. Art was here. He should've been happy.... right? No, not really. Because a monster like him didn't deserve happiness. When he did lull off he could still hear their screaming. He could still see their deaths. Over and over, like a film reel on a constant loop. And then came the haunting thoughts that always kept him up. No matter how tired he was. So, he wandered down to the lake, trying to clear his mind, and not particularly caring what (or who) he found. He knew campers and civilians used the lake for music, stone skipping, and relaxation. He knew it provided a home to the spawn of Neptune. Fontaine wasn't bad, although he had heard of another one. He had probably seen her in passing. Maybe even'd made her something in the past. Who knew. He didn't know her name. He didn't expect to see her today though. Then again, lake. The dead give away was her manipulating the water. It liked kinda cool, actually. Playing the violin at the same time as putting on an aquatic display. He stayed quiet as she played, just listening. He had played the piano some, before coming to the Legion, and he had heard a load of other campers sing and/or play. He kept his respect for art like that. It entertained and created. Everything opposite of what he did. After a few minutes the playing ceased and the girl dipped her toes into the water. Well, just one other person's presence had never deterred him from staying at a place he wanted to stay before. No, he was too stubborn for that. He had come down to the lake, so he was staying. Giving the girl a respectable amount of space, Edmund walked to the side of her and sat cross legged, looking over the water once again. "Nice piece," he commented in his usual, monotonous voice. UT: @mikayla COMMENTARIUM: Hope this is okay! VERBA: 654

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Once again she was at the lake and not a sign of this sister of hers she had heard about. Maybe one day they would meet or send a message to one another. Though she really wanted to just stay here at the lake and wait to see if she showed up. Both being the children of Neptune they would have a call to the sea or any source of water. That was how it was for her at least, maybe her sister was different? That or she could always leave some message carved in a tree! That would be sure to get her sisters attention then. Enough for them to meet and talk finally. Sure she heard rumors about whom her sister was engaged to and that in itself was a little intimidating.

Now was not the time to think about her sister, meeting her or even talking to her. Right now it was a time for her to practice her music and her powers. She would master them both and then she would finally have accomplished something of note, something that wasn’t watching her best friend die.

Once again her music overtook her and she had no clue that there was someone coming near and watching her play. They must all think she was weird, but for a child of Neptune this was normal. The water was calming and it felt like she should be there. It was why she loved being near and around it. One of these days she was going to have to find some way of getting a little pond or fountain in her room. It would help her relax and sleep better.

Not noticing the man until he was next to her she smiled at him. “Thank you, glad you liked it. I’m hoping my father did too.” That was whom she was playing for but if he listened and enjoyed it she was sure that her father did too.

Turning she finally caught sight of her new friend that was talking to her. She recognized him as a forger. Actually it was this man that forged her sword for her. The one that she used. Finally this was someone she recognized! At least she was gaining more and more friends it seemed. Her fears were slowly melting away from what she had heard about the others being wary of the Neptune children after what one had done in the past.

Her eyes returned to look up at the boy (man?) next to her. He did look a little older than her but it was hard to tell with most of the demi-gods here. Maybe he would recognize her. “I remember seeing you around before, you forged my sword for me. I never really thanked you for it.”

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because you're already d e a d in all the ways that matter Edmund should've counted himself lucky. His friend hadn't actually died. She had faked her death. Faked her death for a couple of months and caused some emotional pain, but she had come back... At the time, he hadn't known. He thought he had lost her for good. It had been months, and he still hadn't gotten over it. Even though she was alive, he still didn't think he'd ever really... get over it. The overwhelming feeling of drowning. Or getting pressed to death by rocks. Like the world was ending in a memorized scream, and knowing it was his fault. Getting confirmation that it was indeed his fault... Then again, he should've taken his own advice. You don't get over. You just get through. Time doesn't heal jack. It just drags. It may teach you how to cope if you're lucky. But it doesn't heal. You have to drag yourself through. He, out of all people, should've known that. But Edmund had barely been doing that. Had barely tried to keep himself in machine running order. He had woken up from his coma. He didn't help himself at all in his trial. He let himself get jumped once or twice. His appetite dropped even more than usual. He stopped drinking Tessa's tea. Stopped letting Rhiannon spell him to sleep. After all he had done, he deserved it, he knew he did. He lost concept of day and night. Time just... came and went. He wasn't living. He was barely not dying. He gave a curt nod. "Right," he grumbled, with a slight eye roll. She looked just a bit younger than him. She could've been around for both wars for all he knew. Around that long and still bright eyed and bushy tailed about her godly half listening in and stuff. Idiots. He saw her face turn to look at him. It'd start now. The stare and hatred. Not that he cared. He deserved it. Gossip and stares and hatred were nothing to him now. Things that followed him around day in and day out. A part of his routine of existence. A part of his routine as a traitor. Whatever. After years and years of it, it stopped becoming something and just faded into white noise. Who cared what other people thought? What Edmund didn't anticipate was the girl's point out of him making her sword. Not being a traitor. Not being an ex-quest member. Being the maker of her sword. Weird. Him just being an ordinary forge monkey (which he still was), but without everything that happened within the past year or two seems so.... so long ago. Like a dream. Like his past life was a dream. A dream where it was so much simpler. He trained. He forged. He hated everyone. He had no family. Odd, she remembered him. Then again, it was her sword. Something really necessary in the Legion. Edmund couldn't say he remembered her specifically. Sure, being around eight years, you see repeated faces, but that was the extent of it. Besides that, the amount of swords he had either made or repaired for the amount of Campers was just... a lot. "No need to." In all reality, Edmund never expected to be thanked. It was just a part of his job. It was nothing special. He could disappear and things could go on (heck, it had). He needed no one and no one needed him. UT: @mikayla VERBA: 573

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Why did this boy seem so sullen? He looked like he needed a friend; no he looked like he needed more than that. What he needed was, a hug! He needed a hug and one day she was going to give him one. Just not today because he looked like he would knock her off the rock if she tried to right now. Something about his attitude when she spoke about her father set off a red flag. Was something wrong? Did his parent god abandon him? These were all questions that she should be asking him but right now didn’t seem like the right time. It was something that she was going to have to ease into, maybe once she got him opened up and really talking.

She leaned back against the rock and felt the small fish swimming passed her feet. A small giggle leaving her lips as they tickled the bottom. Her eyes opened up once more as she looked up to the sky and imagined what her father was doing right now. He was probably out there doing something big to protect the sea and here she was stuck at camp. One of these days she was going to be out there with him and helping the sea. Just like him and her mother did. A small sigh left her lips, her mother; now she wished she could call home and see how she was doing.

When she spoke up about her sword she noticed the look. Did she expect him to mention something about what he did in the past? That had to be it. He must be used to it by now with the way everyone talked about him being a traitor. Where that came into play she didn’t care, as Rafiki in The Lion King once said ‘doesn’t matter, it’s in the past.’ That was where she was on this subject. What had happened was in the past and they still won. People should not be treating him the way that they were because of the mistake he had. If they did that to everyone then they wouldn’t get anywhere.

Sitting up she shook her head and looked at him. “I do owe you a thank you, it saved my life in the war. It’s been a trusted companion of mine for a long time. I owe you a proper thank you for that.” She smiles at him as she thinks about her sword. It was one of the best she’d ever used. Hopefully he would be here for a long time for her to keep getting weapons and armor from. “If your armor is as good as your swords I could use a new set of armor.” If she could get a set that could store water in it that would be amazing!

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because you're already  d e a d in all the ways that matter There were really only three things you needed to know about Edmund Simons. Forget his camp status as god-made Animorph, being "the guy that broke into the Principia", an ex quest member, and a traitor. No, the only necessary things anyone needed to know about him were: (1) he hated people and gods (2) he hated physical affection (3) stubbornness and self loathing were his big flaw. Constants of his life. He didn't talk much. Didn't open up. Didn't do affection at all (except indirectly with very few, select people. And even at that, it had taken all of them a bit over a year or two). Sometimes he really didn't understand humans. Most of them did the right thing. Looked at him weird, ostracized  him... it was only fair. It was what he deserved. Technically he should've been dead on the death sentence, but the Legion seemed to have gotten soft while he had been away. The stares and whispers... it's what he had grown up with. It's what he had grown accustomed to over the span of eighteen years. Any deviation from that was just... odd. So, there were people who did what they were supposed to do. And then there were others who just... looked past it. Looked past the entire "ditching camp and becoming the enemy" and just.... treated him nicely? Like someone who didn't do a lot of wrong in their life. It was so odd. What was wrong with people and the "past's in the past" hippie stuff? Even though it was "past", it didn't mean that it was excusable. He was a monster. A traitor. A liar. A freak. He didn't deserve the family he had. He just... shouldn't've had it. But he did. Even after all the crap he'd pulled. Before, Edmund had only one family: the Simons... only to lose all of them before entering the Legion. Then he came here... friendless and familyless for around six years. He had legitimately not cared if he didn't have anyone. Loneliness did creep up on him every now and then, but he had training. He had the forge. He could keep his emotions at bay. But then he made a new family and ruined his progress in becoming a machine. It formed during the long months of the quest: small and broken, but he had found it on his own. He had done it. He had done his own, personal impossible. But now, after all he had done, he didn't even deserve that. Yet they stayed. Idiots. He gave a slight shrug. "You're welcome," he muttered. He wondered when he made it. Obviously before he left for Casa de Saturn. It still felt like a long time ago. And yet, here he was. After being tried. After being dishonorably discharged. He was still going to the forge and making things. Back to "normal", even though nothing would ever truly be the same again. People could change a lot in two years. Hell, people could change a lot because of one night. He knew he certainly had. More than once. He looked over at the girl. "Redpath's better than mine. Be better off asking him." UT: @mikayla COMMENTARIUM: Made him post :P VERBA: 531