Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2015 16:54:22 GMT -5
Growing up in New Rome was never easy. Ty knew this. There were dangers even when the gods were watching the city, there were always dangers. So he stood there, on top of the aqueduct, looking down at the ground. The height didn't bother him. It never did. He loved the way the wind whipped around his face and his body, the surge of adrenaline that he got when he looked down. He could hear nearly anything, smell all of the smells, he could see as far as he wanted from his perch. It was his high. As close as he could get to the sky the better he felt, the more at home he felt. The sky meant power, it meant saftey. It didn't matter how cold he got, he couldn't wear any shirt. He wanted to feel the wind on his skin. He truly didn't know what to think. So he sat down on the edge, the stone was cool to the touch. The water rushing by him was even colder. He should have been in training, but his mind was working a million miles a second. So instead, he sat barefoot and bare chested on the aqueduct on a slightly chilly day in the middle of winter. Janurary, it had been months since he had spoken to his father. What had he done? What could he have done to upset him so? Was it even him that had done something? Had he in some way let down the ideals of what a real Roman soldier should be? Ty could only guess.
The sky bled hues of reds, oranges, yellows and rounding off into deep purple and then into an inky blackness. The night sky reminded him of Miyuki's eyes. Miyuki, Chris, Sabella, Mika, people he cared about, most of them had been taken. He had watched last night as he had been running after Miyuki, trying to protect her from some unseen entity. He had to protect her, it was in the very fiber of his being. Whatever was chasing them, her, was going to kill her. Sabella was being attacked, he stopped, all around him he had heard screams. One by one his friends, his parents, his loved ones, all of them begging him to be saved. His heart broke as they screamed. He couldn't save them, he couldn't even move himself. His legs were sluggish, he couldn't pull them from whatever was holding them down. His muscles screamed in protest as he fought to pull himself free. The last thing he saw as he was being dragged under were their faces. He had woken up covered in sweat, feverish and his chest rising and falling quickly as the panic subsided.
Ty had grabbed his backpack and boots, he didn't even pause to put them on, they were mearly a formality at this point. He had nodded to terminus, ignoring the god for the most part. He climbed up the aqueduct. Now it had brought him to this point. There was still a half bit of panic as he sat there, taking in deep breaths as tears rolled down his face. He'd hardly let anyone know he was crying. His worst fears had come to light. He was weak. He couldn't protect the people that he loved and every last one of them were going to be gone, to die, to leave, and there was nothing that he could do to change it. The thought of that helplessness, that uselessness, that despair, it frightened him. Maybe this was what his father had felt, what scared him, what made him afraid to talk to his own son. Maybe he had become afraid of what his son had become, or would. Maybe it was the weakness that he had in his heart that made his father disgusted with his son.
If it had been summer, Ty could have smelt the scent of the Garden of Bacchus. The almost sickly sweet scent of the flowers and the grapes after a storm, it was a fond memory. Running with his friends through the neighborhood of white buildings and red tiled roofs, catching fire flies in the gardens, laughing as their families gathered to celebrate the fourth of july, cookouts on a weekend day, washing chariots to earn some easy denarii, if this hadn't been New Rome, from what he had heard from others, it could have been mistaken for a small Italian village transported right into suburbia America. Miyuki had brought up a valid point. He had never seen the world outside of camp, outside of New Rome. What could it be like? He could see the whole valley from his position on the top of the aqueduct. The sun was starting to come up, gods only knew how long he had been out here. Goose bumps had rose up on his skin, even on the parts of his tattoo that creeped over his shoulders and to the back of his neck. His nose was running slightly, though that was more attributed to the cold shocking the hairs in his nose and sinus cavity. He pulled his backpack closer to him, pulling out a thermos of hot coffee as he sat there. Maybe this was Somnia's sick sense of humor over Miyuki. Sure Ty had been scared. Petrified even. But he was too stupid and reckless to heed warnings. Well warnings that didn't make any sense, like diving into shallow water made sense, not that he went swimming anyways.
He took a tenative sip of coffee, it warmed his rather frigid fingers and toes. After he had felt the pins and needles in his fingers vanish, he gripped the side of the aqueduct. He threaded the canister closed as he stood up. Ty slung his backpack over his shoulders, pulled a pair of goggles out and placed them over his eyes. One foot after another, the sound of the bare skin slapping against the stone echoed as Ty ran to the highest point of the aqueduct. Seventy feet in the air he launched himself over the edge. He felt the wind rushing against his skin as he fell, the ground rushing towards him at high speeds as he fell. Ty brought his hands up in front of him as the ground was rushing to meet him and a blast of wind hit the ground, buffeting against the grass, laying it flat as it gently pushed him backwards, allowing him to land on his feet with ease.
The sky bled hues of reds, oranges, yellows and rounding off into deep purple and then into an inky blackness. The night sky reminded him of Miyuki's eyes. Miyuki, Chris, Sabella, Mika, people he cared about, most of them had been taken. He had watched last night as he had been running after Miyuki, trying to protect her from some unseen entity. He had to protect her, it was in the very fiber of his being. Whatever was chasing them, her, was going to kill her. Sabella was being attacked, he stopped, all around him he had heard screams. One by one his friends, his parents, his loved ones, all of them begging him to be saved. His heart broke as they screamed. He couldn't save them, he couldn't even move himself. His legs were sluggish, he couldn't pull them from whatever was holding them down. His muscles screamed in protest as he fought to pull himself free. The last thing he saw as he was being dragged under were their faces. He had woken up covered in sweat, feverish and his chest rising and falling quickly as the panic subsided.
Ty had grabbed his backpack and boots, he didn't even pause to put them on, they were mearly a formality at this point. He had nodded to terminus, ignoring the god for the most part. He climbed up the aqueduct. Now it had brought him to this point. There was still a half bit of panic as he sat there, taking in deep breaths as tears rolled down his face. He'd hardly let anyone know he was crying. His worst fears had come to light. He was weak. He couldn't protect the people that he loved and every last one of them were going to be gone, to die, to leave, and there was nothing that he could do to change it. The thought of that helplessness, that uselessness, that despair, it frightened him. Maybe this was what his father had felt, what scared him, what made him afraid to talk to his own son. Maybe he had become afraid of what his son had become, or would. Maybe it was the weakness that he had in his heart that made his father disgusted with his son.
If it had been summer, Ty could have smelt the scent of the Garden of Bacchus. The almost sickly sweet scent of the flowers and the grapes after a storm, it was a fond memory. Running with his friends through the neighborhood of white buildings and red tiled roofs, catching fire flies in the gardens, laughing as their families gathered to celebrate the fourth of july, cookouts on a weekend day, washing chariots to earn some easy denarii, if this hadn't been New Rome, from what he had heard from others, it could have been mistaken for a small Italian village transported right into suburbia America. Miyuki had brought up a valid point. He had never seen the world outside of camp, outside of New Rome. What could it be like? He could see the whole valley from his position on the top of the aqueduct. The sun was starting to come up, gods only knew how long he had been out here. Goose bumps had rose up on his skin, even on the parts of his tattoo that creeped over his shoulders and to the back of his neck. His nose was running slightly, though that was more attributed to the cold shocking the hairs in his nose and sinus cavity. He pulled his backpack closer to him, pulling out a thermos of hot coffee as he sat there. Maybe this was Somnia's sick sense of humor over Miyuki. Sure Ty had been scared. Petrified even. But he was too stupid and reckless to heed warnings. Well warnings that didn't make any sense, like diving into shallow water made sense, not that he went swimming anyways.
He took a tenative sip of coffee, it warmed his rather frigid fingers and toes. After he had felt the pins and needles in his fingers vanish, he gripped the side of the aqueduct. He threaded the canister closed as he stood up. Ty slung his backpack over his shoulders, pulled a pair of goggles out and placed them over his eyes. One foot after another, the sound of the bare skin slapping against the stone echoed as Ty ran to the highest point of the aqueduct. Seventy feet in the air he launched himself over the edge. He felt the wind rushing against his skin as he fell, the ground rushing towards him at high speeds as he fell. Ty brought his hands up in front of him as the ground was rushing to meet him and a blast of wind hit the ground, buffeting against the grass, laying it flat as it gently pushed him backwards, allowing him to land on his feet with ease.