slice of life -open-

[Deleted]

that's the thing about l i f e  it goes on It had been years. His life went on. People lied. Time didn't heal all wounds; it just taught the survivor how to cope and made the pain more bearable. Sure, he got better and healed. A bit. Rhia had suggested seeing someone once, but that was the one thing that was non-negotiable. He was making progress. And progress was progress. The disturbing thoughts ebbed and flowed, but they weren't as intrusive as they had once been. His days went from being dead beat miserable to bearable; they became mixed, as he knew they would. He had good days where he was productive, functional, and borderline hopeful. He had bad days where all he wanted to do was curl up and not move; where he just moved around like a robot to go through the motions, forcing himself to live. If his life had taught him anything, it was that he could survive. He may not like his own existence, but he had the willpower to pull himself though. Spite still played a minor role, but now he had others to think about. It wasn't only about him and his petty reasons. He had Rhia. He had Josh. Ethan. Art. He had Felicity and Lyn's voice in his ear. Could he change the past? No, and he had finally learned that he couldn't just stew in while blaming himself all the time. It was a hard mentality switch, but it came and went. It was like an exercise. He had to keep repeating it to keep it fresh. Not to say that he didn't lapse... he still did. Badly. But he was improving. And that was all that mattered. He still dared to hope. It was a peacetime. One of the longest he had ever seen prior to the Second Titan War. He had started making wooden figurines and children toys again. He missed Felicity. But she'd want him to stay alive. She'd probably kick his sorry butt all the way up to the moon from the Underworld if she saw him too soon. He gave a small, sad smile at that. He looked at the wooden plane in his hands and turned it over and then put it down in favor for a Lupa like figurine that he was making. One day he may be nice enough to do requests. Maybe. VERBA: 390

[Deleted]

Ben was free! He was in a great mood because not only was it almost Easter, but he had just received news that the Senate had voted he had served long enough. As he had gone through the last year with the heavy thought of hard trainings for another 8 and a half years, the idea that he no longer needed them at all was wonderful. Due to the fact that today had been an intended all-day training for his former cohort, the honorably discharged young man had not scheduled to work. He would stop in later, but mostly he wanted to relax and rejoice. He went to Evelyn’s shop first. Everything was dark and the door was locked. It did dampen his mood a tiny bit, but he also knew she didn’t keep regular hours. He just hoped she wasn’t out doing her usual extracurricular activities.

He headed for the forum and its brilliant life. It was surprisingly low on people when he got there, considering what a nice day it was. He bought himself a smoothie at a stall and sipped it as he looked around. Then he saw a young man diligently working on lovely wooden pieces around the side of the forum. He pondered it all, then went back to the stall.

A couple minutes later, he was by the side of the young man working with the wood. He set the red-pink second smoothie down next to the stranger. “Hope you don’t mind strawberry. I won’t impose my presence though, if you do not want it. But it’s a warm day and we all need a treat now and again,” he said in his broken English and thick French accent. He would like a new friend, but he was never one to force it. But he did like giving gifts. He took a step back to be respectful of the other gentleman.

TAG: edmundsimons
WORDS: 317
NOTES:

[Deleted]

things are c h a n g i n g  (as am I) If Ed hadn't been dishonorably discharged, he would have recently just celebrated one year of being a civilian. Instead, he had left for Saturn on January 25. He didn't stick around to get his eighth burn. He didn't stick around to see Lyn's break down over losing him or her father. He had missed Jadis growing bigger. He missed Ethan and Josh's stupid, grinning faces as they annoyed the hell out of him. Of course, the punishment (getting dishonorably discharged) didn't nearly fit his crime of traitor.. double traitor, actually. What was he? A traitor to the Legion or a traitor to Saturn? Both. In the end, he had answered to no one but himself. So, he should have been doubly killed. Pluto probably knew. Jupiter probably knew. He'd be punished accordingly in Tartarus. Honestly, the Romans had gone soft... a discharge instead of a beheading or hanging. Honestly, he was surprised that Bellona or Mars hadn't thrown a fit. He and Rhia would have died, leaving Josh alone. There would be no Art. Maybe Felicity would have stayed missing forever.... Nah, she would have come back to Remus eventually, right? He wasn't sure... for one of his closest friends, she was still a wild card. She had always remained somewhat unpredictable to him. Her final weeks were a testament to that. Ah well, all he could do now was to carry on as Roman: back straight and head up. Just walk and think murder. He'd live through this, just as he lived through everything else. He looked over the small wolf that was forming beneath his fingers. Lupa... that damn wolf. She had ruined his life. Or saved it. The Legion had beat him seven ways from Sunday. Had given him more mental and physical scars than he could ever imagine. But the Legion had also given him another shot at being part of a family. How beneficial that was could be a different story entirely, but it had given him a family nonetheless. Lost in thought, he only realized someone had come close to him after they spoke. At least it was friendly. If not, he'd probably be dead. He silently berated himself; he had to be more aware around here. The anger towards him had subsided significantly, but there were still those who disliked enough to attack. He looked at the young man who had approached him and then looked at the smoothie. Years ago, Edmund would have thought it poisoned. But the guy looked friendly enough. Besides, darn Josh... some sweet things here and there had ended up growing on him. Chocolate and smoothies being two of them. "Oh..." he said, his brain still lagging. Yes, it still froze up when confronted with kindness. It was like mental exercise to deal with people who were nice to him at the outset. "No, I... Thank you." Not completely mannerless. He had always had them; he had just decided not to use them. He tilted his head slightly, noting the accent. Truth be told, he had never really considered international Roman demigods. "Would you like mini Lupa when I'm done?" he asked, holding up his half made wolf.  COMMENTARIUM: i'm sry .-. VERBA: 530