"Today's lesson was… interesting," Adrain said from his place opposite Damian at a table in the cafeteria. They had finished their classes for the day and for the first time they all decided to grab something to eat together. Damian hadn't been very surprised by Persephone agreeing to eat with him, but Adrain was a new addition. An unwelcome one.
"Y-Yes," Persephone said from beside Damian. She was holding a juice box in between her hands and looking at her plate of vegetables like it had committed some great crime against her. Given the fact that it had been Adrian's idea to get it in the first place, Damian thought she should've been glaring at Adrian.
And that was exactly what he was doing.
"I always knew that the three elder Gods were important to the Titanomachy, but I didn't think they would be that important."
"They basically did everything while the others rode their coattail," Damian said as he shifted his gaze from Adrian to the plate of vegetables in front of him. He used his plastic fork to poke it and then frowned when he didn't find any meat in it.
"It's not going to bite you. Just eat" Adrian said as he forked another lettuce into his mouth. His third plate.
"I-I don't think I'm very hungry," Persephone said as she subtly began shifting the plate away from her, "I might be coming down with something,"
Adrain took one look at her and shrugged. He then grabbed her plate and put it beside his, fully intending to eat it as well. Damian tried to do the same thing, but he only got as far as 'I' before Adrian glared at him.
"No," Adrian said and Damian's brow twitched. He could swear he felt a blood vessel pop.
Persephone left the table for a moment and then came back with another juice box, "S-So what did you both think about the casting of lots?"
Damian looked up from glaring at his salad and regarded Persephone. That was a deep question if he had ever heard one. What was he supposed to think about a game played by beings of supernatural strength to decide which of them gets to rule over where?
"I don't think the game was very fair,"
Surprisingly, Damian had been the one to speak. His eyes widened at the realization like he had been betrayed by his tongue.
"Why would you think that?" Adrian said, "They all had equal chances to gain anything"
Damian sighed. He might as well say it all, "I suppose they did," he continued, "but I still don't think it was very fair. The mere fact that the entire underworld was left as one option in the gamble already left a bitter taste in my mouth, but then the fact that all other options had two or more areas under them while the underworld was just that: the underworld. It seems fishy to me,"
"Are you accusing the gods of cheating?" Adrian sounded accusatory like Damian had no right to think such things. Damian knew that expression very well. It was one he had seen on the faces of many people when he announced he was an atheist so long ago, and one he knew many people here held whenever he passed beside them. Like he was doing something wrong by simply breathing.
"I have to go," Damian suddenly said while standing up.
Persephone rushed to stop him, "W-Wait. He didn't mean anything by it!" she said, trying to diffuse the situation, but Damian knew better.
"It's nothing serious. I just need to rest from my injuries," he lied as he continued on his way out of the cafeteria.
Once he was gone Persephone turned to Adrian, "You-You didn't have to say it like that"
Adrain forked a sliced carrot into his mouth and turned away from her with a frown. He had no intention of apologizing. He didn't do anything wrong, after all.
Persephone sighed and went back to her juice box.
'Boys.'
-----
Damian and Adrian didn't speak to each other for the rest of the week and even Helios had begun noticing how distant the two were. Well, more distant.
They had avoided each other in the elevators and their previous glares and scathing remarks had completely disappeared. Persephone grew more and more worried as the days went by. She knew Adrian was the one at fault, but a small part of her also agreed with Adrian in criticizing Damian about questioning their elder gods. It was small-minded of him.
But there was no way either one of them was going to apologize, and that was what landed her in this situation right now. In a helicopter going on their second fieldwork, in between two boys that radiated hostility like a second skin.
Persephone shivered.
"Two minutes to land," the pilot said while angling them towards the ground and they all prepared for their descent. Persephone arranged her hair into the hood of her combat uniform to make sure it wouldn't disturb her from fighting.
The helicopter angled left and then Persephone saw the ground approach. It was the same empty landing platform which they had landed in before, but this time there was a yellow car parked in the middle of the field. A new guide.
"There you go, kids. Be careful out there," the pilot said while adjusting some buttons as instruments. Once they had all come down, he gave them a faux salute and took off.
"So you're the three first years," someone said from behind them and they all turned to see a woman in a business suit standing there. She had blonde hair and yellow eyes and watched them with an impassive gaze, "My name is Thea, and if you must know, my affinity is Zeus. I hope you're all ready for the mission."
They all nodded and she hummed. Her eyes turned towards Adrain for a moment nad Adrian shook his head subtly at her, making her turn back to the rest of them.
"Okay, follow me."
They moved toward her car and entered before she drove off.
"Our mission today is a little more complicated than the one you last had." As she spoke a screen came down in front of them, showing them a medical building, "We're going to a mental hospital"
"An asylum?" Damian said, "What would a daemon be doing there?"
"That is what we would like to find out. Over the last two weeks, reports of the patients becoming worse have been circulating among the underground areas. The nurses there even say they hear screams at night whenever they go outside, but the source of the worsening condition hasn't been found."
"Do you believe it's a daemon?" Adrian asked.
"Yes, we do," she said respectfully before she cleared her throat and pressed a button on her dashboard. Her armrest rose and showed them their guns, "We're going to be carrying out reconnaissance for a while to see what exactly is going on before anything else. Hopefully, there aren't any problems and we can all go home early"
Damian rolled his eyes as he picked out his gun and attached it to his holster.
-----
The asylum was large, in Damian's honest opinion. Far too large. They were all standing in a large field with many men and women in white clothes sitting, dancing, or walking around. Thea had excused herself for a moment to speak to someone at the side and then she had come back and told them they were free to act as they saw fit for the next two days.
Damian found himself confused when she looked directly at Adrin while saying this, like she was speaking to him more than the rest of them. He chalked it up to Adrian simply needing even more air to fill his massive growing head and ignored it.
"T-There are so many," Persephone said while looking around with sad eyes.
"Yeah," Damian said. The field was filled with people of different ages, making it seem more like an extended family gathering than an asylum's playground. He turned to Adrian and saw him speaking to Thea about something. After a while, Thea nodded and then turned to them.
"We're going to be splitting up into two groups. Adrian and Persephone will be going north. Adrian is already adept at noticing Karma fluctuations, so it should be easy for the both of you to pick out any disturbances. Damian, you're coming with me. If we find anything do not engage, instead, double back and meet back here so we can all come up with a proper plan. Understood?"
Damian nodded and then watched Adrian and Persephone move deeper into the asylum. For some reason, he had a bad feeling in his gut. He didn't know what, but it didn't seem like Thea simply came up with this on a whim.
"Ready to go?" she asked him and Damian jolted.
"Y-Yes," he said quickly before following after her as she walked south.