Walk of Shame (OPEN)

[Deleted]

August fixed his wig in the mirror of the New Rome Hospital bathroom. Chemo was hard on you. He felt nauseous and weak and hated it. He left the bathroom and headed out of the hospital. He had a lot on his diseased mind. He’d talked to Remus yesterday about his situation and Remus had told him he’d talk to Ronan, but would press the issue of getting August retired. He would still have to be Augur as there was no one else with that gift, but he could handle that. Until he died. Which could be tomorrow. The thought was heavy and painful. But he was out in public, so he had to act normal. The sun beating down on him was uncomfortable, but he didn’t let it show on his face. He wanted to lay down, but he kept walking.

He needed to start looking for a place for him and Julia to live. She wanted a villa. She wanted a big atrium and altars to gods and everything that the rich had in her time of birth. Who knows, maybe she grew up in a nice big villa with fountains and slaves and altars and the whole nine yards. That was then, this was now. A sick man could not afford that without giving up his medicine. He doubted a sick man could afford it then either. Then again, if someone had brain cancer like him back then… they’d be dead by now. Thank the gods for modern technology. He just wished Julia would wake up to the modern world. She wanted everything as it was millennia ago. She always wore a chiton. She wanted to live in the big villas. She spoke Latin nine times out of ten. He didn’t want to sound bitter, but it was hard on someone who didn’t know that time, to be forced to try to acquiesce to her style. He did his best though. He just wished she’d learn about blue jeans and apartment complexes. And thank Apollo he knew Latin or this never would have worked.

He walked past the Fields of Mars, knowing he might never again go there. His body simply couldn’t handle it. He looked away and sighed. It wasn’t that he loved training, but he was Roman and he was weak. The two words should not go in the same sentence together.

TAG: @ OPEN
WORDS: 397
NOTES:

[Deleted]

It had been already 2 years since Julia was released from the Lotus monsters, 2 years that she had been living in Camp Jupiter, so weird for her to learn that demigods weren't in Rome anymore, they were in a place called America and they had to live in that camp to be safe from monsters... strange for her that she had lived in a time where demigods had to prove themselves, where they lived or died as real romans, fighting, training... with honor. Not hidding in a camp. But well, she had been learning to live in that place.

She saw how everyone dressed in that place, no one worn the roman clothes, they all dressed... well... like norsemen! Yes, in her father's ship she had gone to the North Lands, where the men and women wore pants and thinck clothes, not the fresh roman ones. Also They spoke a very odd language, English they called it, some words sounded like the one Norsemen spoke and others to the ones Romans did... even to those savage men up North Britania. She found all of that difficult, but knowing August and dating him had connected her or half connected her to that new modern era.

But she had refused to dress like them or speak like them, they also spoke Latin, so why should she speak the other one?! and her clothes were as good as theirs! and didn't block her while training or fighting. but lately she had been told by August a terrible thing. He was ill, and as he tried to explain to her, it was something deathly, something that maybe only his father would be able to heal... but she knew that sometims gods were spoiled, others were forbidden to help, and she didn't know in wich mood would Great Apollo be for his son.

So, as she couldn't do much to help August, she decided to surprise him, to show him that she could adapt to that world, that she could be a 21st century woman, even if that was discord for her... well she had lived with it her whole life, so why not. She asked for some help to a venus legay she knew, so she helped her, she was wearing black jeans and the purple shirt of the camp, she also wore a bit of make up and she looked beautiful, she also was wearing a pair of black combat boots. different but she would do it for August. she wanted to make everything easier for him, even more now that... well, that his mind needed a break.

She had to train that morning with Praetor Stone and her cohort, but then she had a bath and she dressed again. then she walked crossing the filed of Mars, she was going to look for August at the hospital, not a date or anything, she just wanted to surprise him, but she didn't have to walk a lot, she saw August and smiled. She walked closer and in a slow English with a hard latin accent she spoke to him. "Hello handsome, may I walk with you?" She smiled at him waiting to see his reaction.

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TAG: August Mitchell
WORDS: 533
NOTES: lol surprise!!

[Deleted]

August gingerly wiped his forehead, careful of the wig. In the humid April air, it was easy to sweat. Especially as your body relied on the top of your head to vent excess heat and he was now permanently wearing the equivalent of a very thick hat that did not breathe. He took deep, intentional breaths, hoping they would sway the nauseous feeling. He could still feel the slight burn all over his body from the dye they had injected for the MRI. Sure, he was used to it, but that didn’t make it comfortable. The road stretching between New Rome and the legion seemed to stretch forever. Was it always this long? He needed ice water. He started pondering how he could take a break and maybe a quick seat without looking odd or out of place. He tried to keep his speed up as he walked, but he felt like his body was made of jelly. He was slightly numb, but not as numb as he would like to be, considering numbness was a dominant feeling and might take his mind off everything weighing on him. Yes, that would be nice. A distraction. Maybe he could read or watch a movie. Those were both good things to distract.

That was about when a familiar – yet strange – voice met his ears. He looked toward the struggling-English voice and stopped dead in his tracks. The eyes, he knew. The curve of the lip, he knew. Everything else was like a brain teaser game trying to throw him off. He wondered if maybe he’d fallen asleep in the MRI machine and the odd thing had given him weird dreams.

Due to this, he was stock still as he stared for at least a solid minute. “… Julia?” He blinked hard, wondering if that would fix it, but it didn’t. He must be hotter than he thought. There were mirages out here!

TAG: Julia Seneca
WORDS: 320
NOTES:

[Deleted]

Julia looked at august and her smile faded a bit, he looked so tired, so pale! Instead of changing her looks, she should had been with him when he got the medicines. But she had done it also for him, right? It was a surprise for him, so he would feel more comfortable, and not between past and present all the time. so she forced herself to smile a bit more once more and nodded at him. she breathed deeply and then spinned very slowly for him. she wanted him to see the whole change, the whole new Julia.

The things covering her legs bothered her, the boots had already hurt her feet, she felt as if something had wounded her ankle and some of her toes, the boots were too hard for her feet, maybe the only comfortable thing was the shirt and that was only some parts of it, because the neck was too tight to her neck and that was really uncomfortable, in fact she pulled the neck of the shirt down some times as she slowly spinned. She had also cut her hair, it used to be long, down to her butt length, but now it was on her shoulders.

She then looked at August again and smiled a bit more. "what do you... think?" She asked smiling, still in a really broken English, but she was trying, she was making the effort of being what august had mentioned to want. she was dressed like any other modern camper, she was speaking their Britanian language, still he didn't seem to like it, or he was just too sick to show it? she walked some steps closer hiding the fact that each step made her feet hurt more. "I am... sorry, I was not there... this day." she said with some pauses as she tried to remember the correct word in English.

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TAG: August Mitchell
WORDS: 316
NOTES: lol

[Deleted]

None of this made sense. He had to be dreaming. This was not right. What on earth was going on? He rubbed at his eyes. “August Hadley Mitchell, you wake up this instant!” he said in his best imitation of his hated mother, because he needed that level of shock treatment for this. When he finished rubbing his eyes, he clenched his fists in an effort to cause pain and possibly draw blood if he could. He narrowed his sore eyes again, then opened them wide. Nothing was changing! This weird image of a woman in front of him who dare steal Julia’s eyes was just placidly turning in place. Yes, had to be a mirage. Complete mirage. The radiation was finally addling his brain.

What did he think? He didn’t even know for sure what he was looking at! “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m going to assume I fell asleep in the MRI machine and am going to wake up any minute. Any. Minute.” He seemed to be more talking to himself than to her, like he was coaching himself through his own confusion. Which he essentially was. It was too much. His tired eyes and weakened spirit were starting to make him doubt this woman was even Julia to begin with.

Yeah, that was it. That had to be it. This was just someone else he’d never seen with a rough accent who wanted a second opinion on a new outfit and had no sense enough as to ask the augur for that opinion. It couldn’t be Julia. Julia wore chitons and plaited her really long hair and had sandals on her feet. Maybe this was a new girl who got here late and didn’t know his reputation and was just like some weird social butterfly or something. Yeah, that had to be right.

Then the new girl made a couple gangly, awkward steps forward and spoke again in her I learned English through an app on my smartphone dialogue. But this time… she referenced his treatment. And this time, he was staring her dead in the eyes and saw that fleck of gold in her iris that only Julia had. He stumbled back. “What the heck is going on!? Julia!” He stared at her as though he’d never seen her before, then let out a breath that wreaked of fear and sadness and confusion. “What happened to you?”

TAG: Julia Seneca
WORDS: 404
NOTES:

[Deleted]

Julia looked at him and frowned, why was he acting in such way? of course it was herself! it wasn't any kind of mirage as he was babling! it was just herself! Julia Seneca! Wasn't that what he wanted of her? a change? Wasn't it hat he was looking for? a change, nothing from the past like the blast from the past like she was!? she had heard that the day he was talking to Venus in the temple, she heard that!He didn't like the villa, he didn't want her to live with her mind stuck in the past, right? so well, now she was a modern woman, or not?

"August... august it is me... I'm Julia!" She said and tried to get closer to him, but he seemed so in discord that she was starting to get scared that maybe it was her mother or even herself who was messing with his mind in that moment. suddenly he just looked at her, right into her eyes and there she could see the moment when he realized it was really her. But his next words made her both sad and upset. Her momentarly smile just vaished, but she tried to calm down and reply to him in the best way she could.

"you said that you wanted me to... stop living in the past, right? so I..." Trying to think on the right words in English that she needed in the moment. "-I changed those things... I now look modern, I speak like you... I dress like all of them!... right?" She said and then waited for his reply, she hoped he would like it, that he would feel comfortable again.

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TAG: August Mitchell
WORDS: 282
NOTES:

[Deleted]

She declared herself as Julia, but… how could that be? He didn’t get it. It didn’t make sense. What was going on? Then it all came crashing down. It really was Julia. It was really her. And it was his fault. He threw his arms around her and cried, the discord and weakness and mess pouring out of his eyes and his heart. His sad body shook in the overwhelming things it sinking into. Physically he was tired and hopeless. And now he felt cripplingly sad, and even a little angry with himself. He held on to her like this moment was all he had left. He was weak. Physically and emotionally. And this whole thing just shouted at him that he had been a burden to another person in his life, just like he always was. His mother had been right. He was worthless. He couldn’t not hurt people. He was hardwired to do damage.

He wanted to run away. Leave this whole camp behind and hope a beast claimed his life to spare people the future pain. He was a burden. He was a curse. All he could do was destroy.

“My beloved Julia! What have I done to you? I’m so sorry. So sorry. You’re not even yourself anymore because of me. I’m not worthy of you. What have I done…”

It was his curse. They say you didn’t know the value of something until it was gone and that rung so, so true right now. He let go of her and stepped away and buried his face in his hands, speaking in Latin. “I’ll be the death of me. I’ll be the death of everyone around me. Gods, take me now. Rid this world of me. All I can do is hurt.” He sunk to his knees and pressed his palms into the course rocks of the path. Pain spiked here and there as the sharp stones pushed into his flesh, but he welcomed it. He needed it. He needed to be punished.

TAG: Julia Seneca
WORDS: 337
NOTES: This is a dramatic thread!

[Deleted]

Julia smiled again, but then her smile was lost, She frowned and tried to speak but he was so lost he simply started speaking, apologizing to her for what he did... to her?! She shook her head and tried explain why she did it, well explain it again. She wanted him to understand that it had been her desision to do that, she wanted to fit in his world, then why was he acting as if she had commited suicide for him?! Was it so bad, maybe she looked bad, maybe that Venus legacy didn't really help her, but totally the contrary.

"August... August!" She said firmly but it seemed to her that he didn't listen to her. He was kind of lost in his own mind, his own discord, she could feel that. "please... listen to me!" She was worried, but then she started listening to his voice, his words in latin and then she understood completely to his words. Before when he spoke in English she lost some ideas, but now that he was speaking in latin, she opened widely her eyes, was he really asking the gods to take him away? To kill him and spare him the pain? was he really asking them to be dead?!

She shook her head and then her own discord exploded, she hadn't had an episode for a while, since he had told her that he was sick, she was trying to keep cam, but now she couldn't. for a second he was hit with her discord, then she supress it, hers and tried to control his too. "Enough!!" speaking in Latin too, she ofered him her dagger. "want to die? want to leave this world? want to give up?" Tears rolling down her cheeks and her voice trembled. "Come on! don't wait for the Gods to do that for you! come on! do it!... do it so I can do it right after you!"

She breathed deeply and then threw it to the ground, it got into the ground and then she looked into his eyes. "I did this... just to fit, but it was my desision! Not yours, Do I look so bad... that you act like that?..." She breathed deeply again trying not to cry or lose control. "Or is it so bad to fight and live... with me by your side? even if you die tonight or in thousand years... wouldn't it be better to fight? Isn't a life full of love wrth living it?" She asked and then knelt on the ground right in front of her dagger.

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TAG: August Mitchell
WORDS: 432
NOTES: too much drama, sorry!!

[Deleted]

August was freaking out, to put it lightly. Yet somehow, her freaking out snapped him out of it. He felt the discord explode, wash over him and rattle his bones. It was hard to breathe, it was so strong. He forgot who he was, where he was, everything. It just washed away. He looked up at her, stunned at what was going on, uncertain and confused. She was holding a dagger. What was she talking about? Who was she talking to? He was so confused. The burst of discord had utterly wiped him. He didn’t want to die. Right? He didn’t, did he?

He saw the tears rolling down her cheeks and new something was horribly wrong, but for the life of him, he couldn’t think of what it might be. He couldn’t remember. Did she want him to die? Was that why she was offering the dagger? She was telling him to kill himself. He sat up, not sure what to say, but wanting to say something. “Julia…”

He winced when she threw it on the ground, though he couldn’t be sure why. None of this made sense. He pushed himself to standing as she spoke. “No, Julia. No, you don’t look bad…” He reached out a hand for her, but she kept talking and he hesitated. She knelt on the ground and his heart broke for her. He knelt too, picking up the dagger and tossing it a few feet away so as to be out of the way. Then he rubbed her back gently. “Julia. You look lovely. I’m sorry I acted the way I did. I was… It was uncalled for. I don’t know what came over me. Please forgive me?” He leaned in a little so maybe he could see her face better. “I have something to show you. Would you like to see it?”

TAG: Julia Seneca
WORDS: 310
NOTES: more drama! With hope of a conclusion soon!

[Deleted]

Julia couldn't move for a moment, she was there, just there looking at the ground. But then when he knelt with her and tried to look at her face in a better way, she looked at him and then breathed deeply trying to calm down a bit more. She held his hand, the one that he first move to hold her hand, but then she tilted her head and sighed. "just... don't you ever talk again about giving up... ok? Just never ever... do it. I can fight a god for you, but I can't fight your wishes of death." She said and then placed her other hand on his cheek and smiled softly.

Then he offered her to show her something. She didn't know what was it, but the way he looked at her, the way his eyes were lit up again, made her smile and nod. She knew that whatever it made his eyes like that, his face show a smile and his voice be like velvet once more, she knew that it was something worthy to be seen. "yes, yes I want to." She kept speaking in a broken English, she wanted to make it easier for him. But she would speak Latin once more if it turned too difficult for her to speak in English or if he asked her to speak Latin again.

"Are you sure... it is right, how I look?... I not look like a man?" She said and held a bang of her hair, it was short and usually only men wore it so short in her time. But in the modern times she had seen that a lot of women wore it in such way. "and the clothes... are... rare." She said and smiled softly.

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TAG: August Mitchell
WORDS: 295
NOTES: surprise!!! she loves them!

[Deleted]

August needed her to know he loved her dearly. He needed it more than he needed air. He mentally begged her to look at him. Please, Julia, please! She took his hand and a fresh bloom of hope came to his heart. He nodded earnestly. "Never again. I promise. I will fight for you. For us." He smiled as she touched his face so gently. Gods, he loved her. "I'm sorry I lost control. I'll try to be stronger for you."

But wait, he knew just the thing to brighten the day. He'd been going to hide it and surprise her, but she needed reassurance right now. To know that he meant to be with her forever. That there was nothing he wanted more. Thankfully, she did not turn down him asking if he could show her something. It was an odd request given the situation. She would have been within her rights. He stood and offered her his hand, careful to switch to Latin to sort of let her know he wanted her comfortable. "Right this way, madam."

She was tugging at her hair, claiming to look like a man, and he couldn't not laugh. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, still speaking Latin. "I think it looks cute. Honest." He gave her hand a soft squeeze. "Now come. This is very important."

He led her to Terminus and beyond, through the streets, almost all the way through the city. They passed the aqueducts and the forum and the arena, the Circus Maximus and the greenhouse. They turned on a narrow cobblestone road lined with flowering trees. And he pulled her to a stop in front of a small villa with the sound of trickling water, a decent garden, and an entrance that promised beauty in it's white stone columns. August put his arm around Julia's shoulders and smiled. "I was going to surprise you, but... you need to see. I put a bit on this villa yesterday. I'm waiting to hear back still, but I have a good feeling." He looked at her face to see how she would react, hope in his eyes.

TAG: Julia Seneca
WORDS: 357
NOTES: Hope you like!