Tidal Waves {Tiana}

[Deleted]

She owed Remus so much for his help, well more like she had helped him to begin with. Thankfully third hadn’t been training on the day he needed someone to look through those files. When she came across Tiana’s file it seemed nearly impossible. She’d sent a letter to her mom and then also did some digging, it was true. Tiana. She was so close to actually getting to know her. She thought that she may have lost the trail after finding the file but Remus came through once again, she lived in a building well an apartment over a grocery store and he got her the building managers number. Once she had all the information she knew that she needed to talk to her. She wanted to get to know her cousin.

While she mulled over how she was going to introduce herself her fingers lightly plucked on her violin. She needed to get the courage to go there and actually speak to her. To get to know whom her cousin really was. “Father, please give me the strength to do this. “ Heading over to where her clothes were she found a sea green dress and changed into that. Finding some matching heels she pulled those on too and made her way to New Rome. It was now or never. She straightened her back and ran her fingers through her hair. She was a daughter of Neptune, she was powerful, strong willed, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Upon reaching the apartment building she regretted not actually bringing something as a gift. It was to late to turn back now. She started her trek up the stairs and when she reached the right landing she entered. Looking to the little slip of paper she had the apartment number on she headed there and sighed. She could do this. Once she was standing in front of that door she could feel her nerves picking up. No, it was excitement. Bringing her hand up she knocked on the door. “Tiana, are you home?”




Tiana Sinclair

[Tiana Sinclair]

Tiana was in her usual position sitting cross-legged in a sunny spot, her hair pulled over one shoulder so the sun hit her back. She was wearing white short, bare feet, a peach sleeveless blouse, and a necklace. Before her was pot of almost-dead flowers she’d found in the trash can of the grocer’s. She’d managed to catch them in just enough time not be entirely gone and, when supported right, looked someone nice. Not that she intended to keep them as decoration that way. She intended to burn them. Not literally. She meant into the square of wood on her lap. The iPod that was like four generations old sat on her couch near her and dutifully played her rock playlist.

She grabbed the apple slice from the bowl on the floor near her knee and took a crunchy bite, then leaned in to adjust the surviving lily with her pinky. “There we are, you just stay right like that.” Her walls were covered with this sort of thing. All wood squares depicting all manor of things. Above the couch – in order – were the Colosseum, Terminus, and a very National Geographic-inspired angle on a sword hilt. There were sunrises, the fountain in the forum, crowd studies, you name it. This time, a lily and the world’s most durable baby’s breath. The baby’s breath would be a challenge, and she was looking forward to this challenge.

Everything was normal and regular and the artist was prepping her mind for this task. Then came a knock and she looked up abruptly. Who on earth came to visit? If it was her manager asking her to do more hours this week, she had news for him. And that news was sure, bring it on as long as I get overtime. With it in her head that she might be walking into a juicy check, she got up and straightened her blouse and tossed her hair back in place. Careful around the flowers, she headed for the door. “Coming!” She opened to meet… someone who was not her manager and did not at all work in the grocery store. In fact, the slightly younger girl seemed to be dressed to the nines. Not that Tiana felt self-conscious. She’d grown out of that. She didn’t give two craps about anyone’s opinion anymore unless it directly influenced her paycheck or that person was a cute little kindergartener. This girl fell in neither category, so one eyebrow raised without any prompting. “The masquerade is two doors down.”

TAG: @mikayla
WORDS: 421
NOTES:

[Deleted]

This was the most nerve-wracking day of her entire life. Not even fighting in the wars was this tense to her. Maybe it was because she was finally meeting a family member. No, not like when she met Clare. This was different; Tiana and her shared actual blood, not divine blood but mortal blood. She never knew that she had a cousin out there before and it made her so happy to finally know that she had someone here. The thing that made her question was this was two of her family members. What made them so special to the gods? First she knew of her mother but now her uncle? Well her uncle was first but wow.

When she called out her eyes widened, she sounded like she was going to be amazing. When the girl opened the door she looked up at her. Wow, she was beautiful. Actually she kind of reminded her of her mother. She had the elegance and the strength of the Sinclair’s and it made her happy to see that. Wait, masquerade ball? A small laugh left her lips as she shook her head. “No Tiana, I’m here to see you.” She shifted uncomfortably trying to figure out how to say this.

“Sorry, I’m a little nervous.” She looked back up to her and remembered she was a daughter of Neptune; she was strong and could do anything. “You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here and there’s a good explanation to that. I was helping Praetor Remus the other day and I came across your file and after looking it over I knew I had to meet you. You see we’re cousins and I wanted to meet you.” She shook her head knowing what she was thinking and looks back up into her eyes. Those same blueish grey eyes they shared from their grandmother. “I don’t mean we’re cousins on the divine side either. Your father, he’s my uncle….” There, it was all out in the open.

[Tiana Sinclair]

Tiana, in her uber-leisure getup and lack of caring, was a little worried that someone so very posh and upbeat should be at her door. Didn’t help the girl had the nerve to grin like an idiot, completely throwing off her Miss America Jr look. Or perhaps enhancing it. It was a little sickening. In her past, Tee would have wished she could be like that. This girl looked just like the kind who had a lot of friends, high standing in camp, a great boyfriend, the nine. Bet that auburn curl was natural too. She looked like a Venus wannabe. And she claimed to be here for Tiana. Tee made an unsatisfactory pop with her mouth and looked bored without even needing to try.

Little nervous. Okay, that made Tiana feel better. Pageant Queen was nervous. As she should be. Tiana didn’t even bother to hide her smirk. “Yeah, you look a little fidgety, princess.” Probably wondering what she was doing there? A snort answered that. Then the girl launched into a story about valiantly helping the praetors or some crap. Then she said what Tee wasn’t expecting. This girl had read her record. Her eyes narrowed. Her attitude went from bored to Annie, get your gun. No one read her record. Knew she had to meet her? Obviously she had misplaced her brain. If she even had one, she likely took it out to play with.

Cousins? Tiana let out a bark of a laugh before she could help it. “Yeah, right! It’s not April Fool’s yet, kiddo. And I’m not stupid.” Yet the girl seemed to see it coming, as she was already shaking her head. Then she clarified it and Tiana just crinkled her nose. “Oh yeah? Prove it. Tell me something that wasn’t in that precious file you illegally read. Or why, after reading that record, you’re stupid enough to even claim this?”

TAG: @mikayla
WORDS: 318
NOTES: ouch, sorry

[Deleted]

She was nervous, Tiana was her family and was someone that she’d never met before. What was she going to do? She would have to make her realize that they were related. She was Neptune’s daughter but here she was shaking like a leaf in the wind. One of these days she would get that under control. Sure she was Neptune’s daughter but divine parentage didn’t matter here, this was a mortal dilemma. That was when her cousin opened the door and she looked her over. Really she was beautiful and she could see her grandmother in her. Though it also looked like she had a lot of her mother in her too.

When she commented she nods her head. “Sorry about that, but I’m really nervous because of it.” She told her everything and then she waited, it was something that was killing her on the inside. She wanted her cousin to know that they were related and then that’s when she laughed. What in the? Her eyes widened and then she listened to everything that she was saying. Oh no, she didn’t believe her at all. Great, now she was going to have to do something to actually get her to understand.

“Well I would hope you’re not stupid and no it’s not April Fools.” She did continue on and then looks at her. That’s when she said to give her some information that wasn’t in the file. That was actually really easy. “That’s actually really easy, Grand-père proposed to Grand-mère in front of the fountain of Latona at the palace of Versailles exactly a year and two before they got married. Then they got married in Notre Dame cathedral."

[Tiana Sinclair]

Tiana rolled her eyes. This girl was ridiculous. No way they were related. Stupid little preppy brat. This was probably a prank. Yes, that was it. This was her idea of a prank. She thought she’d make Tiana feel warm and welcome and happy to be included for once, then shove her in the dirt and laugh and walk away. Already convinced of this, Tee’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. I would hope you’re not stupid… so said the prep. Tiana gave her one simple task: prove her piddly little claim of relation. She didn’t expect her to actually do it though. Which was why she paled a little when she did. What she said was… exactly right. Tiana huffed. “Get your butt in here, prep.” She turned and walked back inside. “And shut the door after you. This isn’t a barn!” she called out over her shoulder.

She went to her work area and carefully moved the flowers so they weren’t in the middle of floor and put them on the side table, the legs of which had intricate burn patterns as well. Then she grabbed the board she’d been about to draw on and set it on the table as well. As if the blaring Superchick music was nothing much to bother with, she saved that until last, picking up her iPod and hit pause.

She turned back on the younger girl. “So who are you anyway. You claim to me so well, but you haven’t volunteered a single thing about yourself.” She dropped on the couch, completely not intending to offer the girl anything to drink like a good host. She wanted answers. “And do you always dress like a high school prom queen?”

[Deleted]

She was finally here; she was meeting her cousin for the first time in her whole life! She wanted to get to know her; she wanted to be friends with her. Now she had a chance to get to know Tiana. They were family and there was nothing she wouldn’t do to prove her bond of blood with her cousin. She looks her over and as she tells her the one thing that she wanted to know she could see her cousin pale even more. She knew that she was telling the truth. She had to know that! Once she was told to get in here she smiled and walked in closing the door behind her. “I wouldn’t live in a barn, I’d live in the ocean.” Okay if you were Clare then you’d get that and probably laugh.

As she walked in she could hear the loud music and tried not to let it bother her, did Tiana want to go deaf or something? It wasn’t good to listen to music that loud! She made her way into the room where she had been cleaning up and then took a seat on the chair. Her cousin really was pretty; it was like she was a daughter of Venus! Maybe she was? No wait didn’t it say Trivia in her file? That could explain some of the stuff that was in her apartment.

Okay she did say she knew her cousin but she knew their family not her cousin. The only stuff she knew about her cousin was everything that was in her file that Remus let her know. “Well for starters my name’s Mikayla Sinclair, my mother is your Aunt Elise Sinclar, my father’s Neptune, I’m seventeen, and in third cohort.” There was probably more that Tiana would want to know but she would tell her later. “ Tell me about yourself, I’d like to know you better.” At her other question she shook her head. “No, I didn’t know what you would be like and I didn’t want to come here in a camp uniform. Though when I get away with it I’m normally in something aqua or sea green.”

[Tiana Sinclair]

Tiana stalked away from the door and huffed at prep’s silly comment about living in the ocean. She pictured one of the 80s sci-fi book underwater bubble city. “Right, and I’ll write you from my cottage on the moon.” She set to work making her living room a little more inhabitable and flopping on the couch, tossing a blond curl out of her face to regard her prep of a cousin. This was awful. She was related to Prom Queen. This was worse than a life jail sentence, she just knew it was. So she aimed for the intimidation factor and told her get talking.

Makayla Sinclair. Check. Knew Tee’s aunt’s name. Check. Then she held her hand up. “You’re Big Three and a prep? Oh gods, save us.” She made a look like this was painful and waved her to continue. Seventeen. Ugh, entering the b- years. Third cohort? Well at least she wasn’t first or Tiana would have to fillet her to put her in her place.

Then she asked her to talk about herself. “You illegally read my file. You know all you need to know.” Then prep talked about not wanting to come in in camp uniform. And had the nerve to throw in her color preference for outfits. “Well, aren’t you just so precious, Mikayla. I bet all your girlfriends have a cutsie nickname they call you too cause you’re so freaking adorable in your water themed everything. Hording it over the rest of us peons that we’ll never measure up. Miss Popular, Powerful, Pretty, and all that crap. Bet you got yourself a football quarterback of a boyfriend who gives you diamonds every other Wednesday. I sure hope someday you learn that life’s not peaches and cream, princess. Sometimes you’re living paycheck to paycheck and flying solo. Life sucks, then you die and go to the Field of Asphodel where you just fade to nothing, because ya know the gods just care so much about us little mortals.” Was she bitter? Of course. Did she hate everyone in this camp? Oh yeah. Did she want to kick princess out of her apartment and get a restraining order? Quite possibly.

TAG: @mikayla
WORDS: 365
NOTES: gods, I love Tee