[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/My176Qx.gif[/img][/center]
[sup][h1][b][center][color=black]𝖔 𝖓  𝖙 𝖍 𝖊  𝖈 𝖆 𝖘 𝖊 [/color]
[color=#ff6250]𝖔 𝖓  𝖙 𝖍 𝖊  𝖈 𝖆 𝖘 𝖊[/color][/center][/b]
[/h1][/sup]
[right][sup]𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Olympic Club Rooftop → Bathroom
𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: [color=ea7e5d]Athena[/color] [@metanoia], [color=facade]Anteros[/color] & [color=5e74ee]Artemis[/color] [@smarty0114]
𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Ares [/sup][/right][center][b][color=#EA7E5D]▅[/color][color=#EA8061]▅[/color][color=#EB8265]▅[/color][color=#EB8569]▅[/color][color=#EC876D]▅[/color][color=#EC8A71]▅[/color][color=#ED8C75]▅[/color][color=#ED8F7A]▅[/color][color=#EE917E]▅[/color][color=#EE9482]▅[/color][color=#EF9686]▅[/color][color=#EF988A]▅[/color][color=#F09B8E]▅[/color][color=#F09D93]▅[/color][color=#F1A097]▅[/color][color=#F1A29B]▅[/color][color=#F2A59F]▅[/color][color=#F2A7A3]▅[/color][color=#F3AAA7]▅[/color][color=#F3ACAC]▅[/color][color=#F4AFB0]▅[/color][color=#F4B1B4]▅[/color][color=#F5B3B8]▅[/color][color=#F5B6BC]▅[/color][color=#F6B8C0]▅[/color][color=#F6BBC5]▅[/color][color=#F7BDC9]▅[/color][color=#F7C0CD]▅[/color][color=#F8C2D1]▅[/color][color=#F8C5D5]▅[/color][color=#F9C7D9]▅[/color][color=#FAC9DD]▅[/color][color=#F9C7D9]▅[/color][color=#F8C5D5]▅[/color][color=#F8C2D1]▅[/color][color=#F7C0CD]▅[/color][color=#F7BDC9]▅[/color][color=#F6BBC5]▅[/color][color=#F6B8C0]▅[/color][color=#F5B6BC]▅[/color][color=#F5B3B8]▅[/color][color=#F4B1B4]▅[/color][color=#F4AFB0]▅[/color][color=#F3ACAC]▅[/color][color=#F3AAA7]▅[/color][color=#F2A7A3]▅[/color][color=#F2A59F]▅[/color][color=#F1A29B]▅[/color][color=#F1A097]▅[/color][color=#F09D93]▅[/color][color=#F09B8E]▅[/color][color=#EF988A]▅[/color][color=#EF9686]▅[/color][color=#EE9482]▅[/color][color=#EE917E]▅[/color][color=#ED8F7A]▅[/color][color=#ED8C75]▅[/color][color=#EC8A71]▅[/color][color=#EC876D]▅[/color][color=#EB8569]▅[/color][color=#EB8265]▅[/color][color=#EA8061]▅[/color][color=#EA7D5D]▅[/color][/b][/center]
[indent][indent][color=gray]
Anteros’ legs carried him through the ballroom, any care for decorum long since abandoned. Fear and anxiety threatened to drag him to a shivering, sobbing halt, but he pushed onwards, past the bloody crystals of glass and Zagreus and Macaria’s broken bodies. His father’s order echoed in his ears, driving him up the stairs and out into the Seattle rain. His eyes, wide with fear, fell on his aunt and before he could calm himself his words began spilling from his mouth. [color=facade]“Athena! Pothos she–well I went to find her after the–,”[/color] Anteros’ eyes flew towards the shattered skylight, filling in the blanks better than he ever could. [color=facade]“She’s missing is all, and my father and I found blood in the bathroom. He told me to show you,”[/color] Anteros said.

For the first few seconds before her nephew had started to speak, Athena had the entirety of her mind to politely (or polite for her) suggest he leave. The pure and simple fact of this being part of the crime scene aside, it was no place for a child and the fewer people who knew of the existence of the Norse weapon that rested behind where she stood, the better the chances of this not reaching ears that would damn everyone. In her vast mind, she tried to keep it from Anteros’ view, but then as he spoke about his sister, who had gone missing, she understood the severity of what was happening. 

Closing her eyes, she centered and realigned her priorities. There was a lot happening, but family was family. [color=ea7e5d]“It’s going to be okay, Anteros. Take a deep breath, okay?”[/color] She approached him. Athena had  nothing but adoration for her nephew. Ares was a pain at anyone’s side, but every once in a while, even he could do the right thing and sending his son to her side was the right thing. She placed a hand on his shoulder, keeping it there and looking at him until she knew he had a handle on his emotions. He had every right to be worried and fearful of Pothos’ whereabouts, but carrying on with a clear head would help their chances of finding her. [color=ea7e5d]“Take me to where you and Ares found the blood. Can you do that, Anteros?”[/color] She asked, still with a supportive hand on her nephew’s shoulder.

Anteros nodded, shaky but still helpful, at least for now. He turned and led Athena back down the stairs, to the bathroom where the spots of blood were already beginning to dry. He pointed to the now empty space on the floor, where the lapel pin had rested. [color=facade]“There was a pin there. It looked like an anvil or something. I’d show it to you, but my dad took it. I think he went looking for Hephaestus,”[/color] Anteros said, shaking his head.

Athena scanned the room. From the stalls to the sink, she could see there was some sign of a struggle. A struggle, if she were to make an educated just based off what she saw, wasn’t entirely one-sided. Not at all unsurprising. There was no doubt in her mind, which had been balancing many theories as it is, that Pothos (if it was indeed her blood) wouldn’t go without a fight. She took pride in that and looked at her nephew. 

An anvil? It certainly would point to Hephaestus. Just the thought of him made her almost as full of ire as Ares. She wondered if Ares came to the same conclusion she was about to: that maybe that troll had something to do with this. But why Pothos? What could he want with her? And if he wasn’t, Athena had a theory that maybe somebody might be setting him up. No matter which it was, one thing that was absolute was that Pothos was missing and Hephaestus may or may not have a hand in it. [color=ea7e5d]“Do you happen to know where Ares would go? To find Hephaestus, I mean.”[/color] Athena asked, her mind churning as well. The irony of this all was how she and Artemis were both talking about Hephaestus and where he was. He wasn’t at the festival, or at least not that neither Athena nor Artemis were made aware of. If that was his pin and he was here, then the next thing she had to figure out, in addition to the crime scene, was to find her brother. 

[color=facade]“He didn’t. He just said he was going to pay him a visit, and he told me to tell you he’d speak with you later.”[/color] Anteros shook his head. [color=facade]“You know my father. Act first, explain later.”[/color] His hands reached up to run through his hair, stopping midway and pulling at the waves. The pain grounded him, but it did not make him feel any better. He was a failure, useless in the face of whoever had come for his sister. If they could not find Pothos… well, he didn’t know what he would do. He could not imagine a world without his sister in it, and now…now he was alone. [color=facade]“This is my fault. I should’ve been with her. I could’ve helped her,”[/color] Anteros mumbled, his voice cracking with pain and grief.

She looked at her nephew. His love for his sister and the pain he was going through, particularly when it came to not knowing whether she lived or if she would join the Death Children, she felt his pain. She felt it to the point where she tried to hide how angry she was at whoever did this. She was not Ares and would not lose herself to it, but this was family. Calm and collected or not, Athena was personally attached. Above everything else, though, Anteros was one of the sweetest of her nieces and nephews, the one who remained untainted by the cruelty of the world. Untainted by the vulgarity and horrors things like death and kidnappings bring out in the average mortal, much less gods.

She went closer to her nephew, in a showing of affection that many associate with Athena anyway but not in a public sense. She held her nephew in an embrace, making sure he knew he wasn’t alone. [color=ea7e5d]“Listen to me: you are not to blame for this, Anteros. The only blame that should be cast is on the person who has Pothos.”[/color] When she felt certain enough that he understood, she let him free of the embrace and looked at him. [color=ea7e5d]“I promise you, we will find this person. We’ll find them and bring them to justice and return Pothos to her family.”[/color]

Anteros nodded, tears flowing freely from his eyes. He wiped them from his cheeks, breathing deeply before saying, [color=facade]“Thank you,”[/color] and trying his best to return to the stoic and steely look his father had mastered so well. He did not capture it quite as well. [color=facade]“I just–I need her to be okay. To be alive."[/color]

[color=ea7e5d]“She will be. I promise--”[/color]

Their conversation was halted by a gentle cough from the doorway. Anteros turned to see Artemis, leaning against the doorframe, still graceful in the face of tragedy. [color=5e74ee]“Sorry to interrupt,”[/color] she said, eyes flicking across the bathroom. Her eyes betrayed the questions she so clearly wanted to ask, but she held them for a more opportune time. [color=5e74ee]“Hati wanted me to keep you in the loop. He’s going to find Odin, to ask about the sword.”[/color]

Athena’s observative eyes went from Anteros to Artemis. [color=ea7e5d]“It’s rare that the wolf has good ideas, but this might be one of those rare instances.”[/color] The relationship that Athena had with the bounty hunter had never been positive. To her, he wasn’t a [i]real[/i] investigator -- not like herself and Heimdall. But these were different times brought on by circumstances nobody could have ever predicted. Hati going to see Odin was a smart idea. If anyone would know about that sword which was of Norse origin, it might be the Alfather. [color=ea7e5d]“Hopefully this sheds some light.”[/color] She looked around and let out a small sigh. 

Athena’s eyes fell on her nephew and she smiled at him. [color=ea7e5d]“Anteros, you needn’t worry. We will find your sister and if someone took her, we will bring them to justice!”[/color]

Anteros looked between his aunts and offered up a weak smile. Despite the hole left inside him, he appreciated their words. He dug deep, for the resoluteness his father seemed to wear so effortlessly, and wiped the tears from his eyes. [color=facade]“I want to help. With the investigation, I mean. I don’t have anything else to do anyways, I need something to distract me. I can catch up with Hati, and keep you guys updated. It beats sitting around my apartment and waiting for a phone call.”[/color] He neglected to add that the wolf was one of the only people he had any desire to speak with at the moment. Hati would know what to say, he trusted that much.

As much as Athena wanted to decline her nephew’s help only because she was afraid he’d only get in the way, the truth of the matter was they were shorthanded. Only a few people knew exactly what was going on. But if he was insistent on it, who would she be if she told him no after seeing that look of renewed light in his eyes? There was a determination that made the Goddess of Wisdom smile. [color=ea7e5d]“Very well then. Go to Hati, Anteros. You have our numbers if there are any updates.”[/color] She gave him a nod and a quick hug. Athena wasn’t typically this outwardly affectionate, but she was genuinely worried for her nephew. [color=ea7e5d]“And please be careful and safe. If you sense any danger, you call me immediately. Am I clear, Anteros?”[/color]

[color=facade]“Of course,”[/color] Anteros said, [color=facade]“thank you.”[/color] He nodded at Athena, then Artemis, before exiting the way he’d come, hands already fishing for his phone.

When Anteros left and Athena was left with Artemis, she turned her attention back on the crime scene in the bathroom. [color=ea7e5d]“This is a mess, Artemis. Hades and Persephone’s children are dead and now Pothos is missing. Anteros came to me and found me and this was the last place she was last seen.”[/color] Athena reached into her clutch, which had been snug inside her dress this entire time. She pulled out two things: a personal CSI kit that included one pair of gloves and a swab. She put on both gloves, removed the swab from the small container it was in, and went over to where she saw the most blood. Stroking the small patch of blood, she placed it back into the kit and looked at Artemis as she stood. [color=ea7e5d]“He also told me our brother found a pin. One that was shaped with an Anvil.”[/color] She would admit, looking troubled as she thought what that could mean. [color=ea7e5d]“I suppose that sheds some light on our conversation earlier, doesn’t it?”[/color]

[color=5e74ee]“It certainly adds a new facet to all of this,”[/color] Artemis said, punctuating her words with a sigh. [color=5e74ee]“If Ares knows about this, then it means he’s out for blood. If this is a war, that could be helpful. It’s what he’s built for after all. If this is something else though…I worry he will break something that can not be easily fixed.”[/color] The huntress shook her head. [color=5e74ee]“I can have my girls keep an eye out for Pothos. If Hephaestus has her, it’ll hopefully slow him down. Make him easier to trace.”[/color] Leaning against the tiled walls, Artemis looked at her sister with her usual brand of stoicism. If this day was flustering her, it was hardly apparent. [color=5e74ee]“You trust Heimdall?”[/color]

Athena thought about Artemis’ question. Heimdal was her partner. Whether she was on the battlefield or protecting and serving the city of Seattle, one thing Athena has always known to be absolute was whoever your right hand and left hand were, they were to be trusted. Heimdall was an honorable God. Recent events put a small doubt in the back of her mind (among everything else she was balancing), that didn’t change. [color=ea7e5d]“Heimdall is my partner. He has had my six for as long as we’ve been partners. We can trust him. I imagine, much like Hati and all of us in the know, he wouldn’t want a war to break out either.”[/color] Athena had worry in her voice but not because of Heimdall specifically. It was about Ares and his headstart. It was Pothos missing, and the blood. It was Hephaestus. So many pieces were spread across the puzzle board and Athena had no way of knowing what connected to what.

Artemis nodded. [color=5e74ee]“Might be time to bring him in,”[/color] she said. [color=5e74ee]“Have him check camera footage and test that blood. I’ve got an idea of who might know where Hephaestus’ hidey hole is, but I don’t think I can be trusted to go alone.”[/color] Artemis stretched her hand out in front of her, examining her nails like this was just another Tuesday. [color=5e74ee]“Let’s be honest, Hera and I alone together is a disaster waiting to happen.”[/color]
[/color][/indent][/indent]