Tattoos
Wynnona
I smile warmly at her as she pulls me along, standing in front of me as the song changes. The chaotic beat slows to a softer one, couples all around us grabbing hold of one another to dance. More sway in my opinion but I'm crazy. She places my hand on her hip, taking the other in her hand as she places her hand on my shoulder. She steps closer to me, allowing me to lead her in our dance. I twirl her, bringing her back to press against me as I dip her in a fanciful fashion. I revel in the small giggles she lets out as well as the wide smile she gives me. The song ends but I don't want to let go of her.
The rest of the night is spent with the two of us dancing along to the beat of every song, stopping only to get some water, or what I think is water, into our systems. After hours of dancing, the party is over. Everyone has left except for us and the cleaning staff. They are cleaning the mess left behind by the people as well as cleaning everything out of the room, placing it back in storage. Athena rests her tired head on my shoulder, leaning against me for support as she fights off sleep. Her arms weakly rest on my shoulders as I lean against a wall, her heels in my hand with my other around her waist.
"What's taking her so long?" I ask aloud, glancing over to Giovanni who is in the same predicament. He is seated across from me, on the ground with a sleeping Jake in his lap. He pulls his sleeve back, careful to not wake Jake as he checks his watch.
"It's about one in the morning in your time Wyatt." Giovanni yawns. "In other words, it's sleepy time." He slouches into the wall, resting his head on top of Jake's. I smile at him as I look over at the other two couples, both of which are asleep. I turn my attention pack to Athena when she pulls away from me, looking at her hand. The blue stoned ring on her hand starts to glow then slowly starts to disappear.
"How can the stone be over?" I ask as I study her eyes. She opens her painted lips to respond when her eyes move to something behind me. She raises a delicate hand to point and I turn, hand going to her waist protectively. My eyes land on the queen, flanked by her butlers.
"I am not wrong." The queen says as she starts to make her way to us. Giovanni shakes Jake awake before scrambling to his feet. "It is rare that I am. But it would seem you have managed to do so." She never breaks eye contact with me. She raises her hand to me, one I take. The ring on Athena's finger disappeared swiftly. "You can count on my people as you need them." I kiss her hand respectfully before shaking it, sealing her dedication to the Allies.
"You won't regret it your highness." I promise her. She gives me a steady pointed look.
"I'd better not, or it will be your head on a spike outside my palace." She threatens. I bite my lip to stop a smile. I bid her robots good luck killing me if we fail. I don't however plan to fail. We say goodbye and wake up the others. We make our way back to my ship, everyone going their separate directions for the night. Athena leaves to our room and I go to the control room, Star jumping off my shoulder into the seat beside me. He lets out a little fox yawn, falling asleep after I take his cute tie off.
I fall back into my seat, my feet aching in my shoes. I start up the ship, lifting off the planet to leave. We make it out of the atmosphere, hitting the coordinates for the Allies base the ship jumps into light speed. I reach down to untie my shoes, kicking off the foot traps. I scratch at Star's ears absentmindedly as soft footsteps come up from behind me. I turn to find a very tired Athena leaning against the doorframe. She is in the long old shirt I used to sleep in that falls off one of her pale shoulders. Her white hair is completely loose as she runs her hand through it. It looks like she's taken off her bra, wearing only underwear and the long shirt. She smiles at me, padding over to fall into my lap. She nuzzles into my neck, lips brushing my shoulder. In this form, no make up, hair down, in nothing but one of my old shirts she looks the most beautiful to me.
"Hurry and come to bed or I will sleep right here with you." She says with the cutest glare I have ever seen.
"I'm so scared." I tease her, tightening my hold on her waist ever so slightly. She 'glares' harder at me before sticking her tongue out at me, delicate nose scrunching. I chuckle softly, leaning forward to kiss her nose. "I just want to make sure we are relatively safe from anyone following our tail." I tell her as she nuzzles into my neck, hands playing with the collar of my shirt and jacket. I hear her breathing even out, allowing me to place a kiss to her forehead unnoticed. After a while longer of looking and checking, a dub it safe enough to go to bed for a couple hours sleep. Star yips at me, his eyes exhausted, as he lazily hops into Athena's lap. I lift her up in my arms like a bride, carrying her off to our bed. I have started to strip down, changing my bra for the regular sports bra I wear when soft hands brush my back.
"It's beautiful." Athena whispers, running her fingers down the canvas of my back. I shiver ever so slightly, pleasure ripping through my body. A hot trail of sparks left behind by her dancing fingers. "Why?" She asks. I can see the curiosity that likely dances in her eyes ripple through her voice.
My back is covered in a dragon tattoo. It is a dark green dragon with blood red eyes and pale purple highlights. Its head rests at the base of my neck, its wings stretched out taking over the expanse of my shoulders. Its strong, limber body slithers down my spine. The dragon is surrounded by clouds, illuminated by the same colours as a sunset. Beautiful oranges, soft blues, vibrant pinks, and deep purples. My bra strap came around the base of the dragon's neck, sort of looking like a chain had been tied around it to hold it down.
"Dragons are powerful, free creatures. I wanted a reminder of what my papa once saw me as when I was little." I turn in her grasp, taking her hands in mine. "He always used to call me his little dragon. He believed I was trapped by the society we were in. He used to tell me my perfect knight would come to save from my chains. I promised him I would save myself." She smiles warmly at my story. "He told me he'd thought the same thing until my dad came along." I smile at the memory, willing my tears to not fall from my eyes. She smiles at me, falling back into the bed. I pull off my pants changing into my sweats. I go to pull my other shirt on when she stops me.
"Will you sleep with it off?" She asks, cheeks a blazing red. I smirk at her, tossing the shirt onto my bedside table. I assume she just wants to continue staring at all my tattoos before she falls asleep. I crawl into the bed beside her, tossing the blankets over the both of us. Her fingers dance across a deep red rose inside of a cool black triangle pattern on my right bicep. Then to the dark enchanted forest around my left forearm. The trees are tall with a full moon peeking through the trees. A white wolf rests on the inside of my forearm, wandering through the trees with a small fox behind him. After the fox is a snow leopard, who has a lily in his mouth. A baby dragon waddles behind them, following closely as to not get left behind. The four creatures wrap around my arm, wandering across the enchanted forests floor. There is a bit of space just behind the dragon, room for maybe two more creatures.
I watch as Athena's eyes shut, her breath evening out signifying she's asleep. I wait a moment before going to poke Giovanni, after pulling on my shirt.
Athena
I awakened to be in a council meeting room from back in Greece. I turn around to look at the room. When I turn back everyone is standing before me. Odysseus stands in front of me, arms opening wide as I glare at him. I don't last long however and rush forward to hug him.
"Hey baby sister." He smiles, kissing my head and hugging me tighter. Beside him is Fafnir, standing but his head cast down. My heart constricts at the memories that rush back. I shake my head, seeing commotion in the corner of my eye. I look over to see the ever-perfect Mystique fighting off Loki.
"Come on, you missed me I know you did." He muses, attempting to wrap his arm around her shoulder.
"Touch me again and I swear you will be trapped with Rolo until I die." She smirks wickedly at him as his face contorts in horror. I laugh drawing their attention. They both smile warmly at me as I go to hug them both. Loki is about my height, while Mystique towers over me just slightly. She is easily 5'9" without the added height of her horns. I turn to find Rune, who gives me a polite smile that I return.
"How are you all here?" I ask, smiling at all of them once again. Mystique smiles warmly at me, stepping forward to take my hands.
"It was good to see you again my friend, but I must leave. I have left myself unguarded in coming here and I believe Riddle is up to something." She starts to disappear after I nod in understanding.
"I also must go." Loki says, face growing serious. "Seems Rolo is welcoming more players for his game." He hugs me before also leaving. Rune steps towards me, bringing my hand up to his lips.
"Seems Needledrop has found my boy." He speaks softly as he kisses my hand. "I shall take my leave of you as well." He leaves without more being said. I turn my attention to Odysseus.
"Will you be leaving me too?" I ask him. He lets out a thunderous laugh, stepping towards me.
"Never in my wildest dreams would I ever leave you again dear sister." He tells me as he brushes my hair behind my ear. I lean into his touch, missing it over these past several centuries. "I'm happy you've been returned to your body. It kickstarted the rest of us being able to start breaking free."
"I'll make sure you're all able to make it to Wynnona and I." I promise him. His eyes glaze over for a moment before his hands start to shimmer a bit.
"I'll be damned." He breaths when he comes back. He stares at his hands for a moment. "That boy is doing something to get me out of here that I didn't think of." He says before he disappears as well. I take a breath, allowing myself to fade from the mindscape as well and back onto Wynnona's warm bed.
I open my eyes to see the room dark and empty. Star sleeps on Wynnona's pillow instead of her. I bolt up, tossing the covers away as my heart lurches into my throat. I scan the room, seeing her leather jacket and boots are gone. I hear a blaster going off making my heart stop. The ship has gotten suddenly chaotic since I fell asleep. Worry continues to flood my system as I go to grab the rose Roe gave me that is around my neck. It is perfectly thriving. I grab a pair of socks and shoes as I pull on Wynnona's sweatpants and a sweater of hers. Both are oversized on me; I must tighten the sweatpants a bunch, so they don't fall off. The sweater is a lost cause. I hear another blaster go off sounding as if it's coming from the kitchen.
I wake Star, hiding him swiftly before grabbing one of Wynnona's many knives. I tie my hair back into a messy bun as I exit the room, scanning around as I slowly creep through the shadows of the ship to the kitchen. I get there only for the sight to make my heart and stomach drop. Brett is clutching a blaster wound on his thigh, Keya applying pressure as he bleeds. Jake is doing what he can with the limited supplies he has, a sickly Roe clinging to him. Lillian stands with a gun pointed at them.
"Wynnona's going to kill you." Jake growls are her. She lets out a wicked laugh, obviously not intimidated.
"And if I killed her already?" She says with what I can guess is a twisted smile. Worry- no fear- sets in me, dulling my senses for a moment. In the moment Oriana sneaks up behind me, shoving me to her twisted girlfriend. I look at them both as I see hope set into Keya's eyes. "Athena, what should we do with you?" She asks with a smile that makes my stomach turn. I silently thank myself for hiding my knife.
"I say we kill the bitch." I've been spoken of in much less flattering ways.
"Boss wants her alive." Your boss can choke on my hand as I shove his eyes down his throat.
"Wouldn't it be more fun to stain that pretty white hair and skin red?" I sigh as I still myself, taking a breath. I drown out the two women's voices as I wait, listening. I open my eyes to look at Jake, mouthing 'run' to him as Lillian points her blaster to me, firing.
I raise my hand, stopping the blaster's bullet mid air. Oriana swings her sword at me, but I raise my other hand, stopping her in place too.
"How?" Lillian asks, fighting my powers hold on her.
"I'm the Greek goddess of wisdom and strategy, how stupid are you?" I growl out, holding my head high. I feel more power course through me, realizing that my friends have lent me their powers for a fraction of time. I smirk, dropping my hands to cross them in front of my face forming an x. Lillian keeps eye contact with me as I snap with both hands, disappearing from her sight and Oriana's. Before me now is Jake, struggling to carry a limping Brett. "We have to get you guys hidden." I whisper to them, placing my hand over Brett's wound and forcing it to fully heal.
They follow me silently as we navigate the ship, finding a place for them to rest. We are going past the hanger when it opens, and two figures walk in through the dark. Not thinking, I grab one, taking the dagger out and holding it to the person's throat while I place my one hand behind me back, pushing the other person back into the wall. The figure I am pinning to the wall raises a hand, a small blue flame illuminating the area.
"I'm going to pretend that wasn't really hot and instead ask what the fuck is going on?" Wynnona asks with a raised eyebrow. I drop the dagger, hugging her.
"Thank Zeus you're okay." I breath as I nuzzle into her. She wraps one of her arms around me holding me close.
"Why wouldn't I be?" She asks studying each of us. I take note of the way her eyes linger on me. Roe limps forward as best he can to Wynnona. She crouches down, hugging the boy close as she kisses his forehead.
"Lillian and Oriana are traitors." Brett growls as he and Keya inform her of the situation. Jake has smacked Giovanni for the seventh time, slightly angry with him. I can understand this anger, for I feel it the same towards Wynnona. I watch her eyes flare with anger as the blue ball of flames in her hands sizzles hotter.
"I know where to barricade yourselves." She nods her head for us all to follow. We do silently and with no complaints. I go to her side, holding her calloused hand in mine tightly. She gives it a reassuring squeeze, picking up on my worry. I smile when she gives it another squeeze, bringing it up to her lips to place a kiss to the centre of my hand. We make it to what looks to be a weapon vault. Roe, Keya, and Brett shuffle in. Star pops up beside them, licking Roe's cheek. He clings close to little Roe in a way I don't miss.
"Stay here." Wynnona tells me in a tone that leaves no room for arguments.
"Excuse me?" I challenge. "In no way are you leaving me behind. I am a goddess!" I tell her with my head held high. She reaches forward to cup my cheeks.
"I don't care." She tells me sharply. "I care about you and if you get hurt. I know you can fight and protect yourself, but I can't risk you getting hurt." She leans her forehead against mine. "I already want to rip both of those traitors apart." My heart warms at her words of worry for me. "Besides, someone has to keep an eye on Star." She says. I smile at that, laughing when I see Star stick his tongue out at both of us. "And I want my best fighter protecting everyone in case we fail." Something starts to choke me at that, all the things I've wanted to say to her crumpling into a ball and lodging into my throat.
"Don't do anything too reckless." Jake tells Giovanni, Giovanni smiling at him before kissing his forehead softly just to be pulled down for a kiss. I turn back to Wynnona as she programs something onto a panel.
"Wynnona." I say so softly I doubt she's heard it.
"Let's go love bird, I have people to rip limb from limb." She tells Giovanni, staying in her place. She glances over at me and notices that my cheeks are red and I'm fiddling with my fingers nervously. "Don't be too worried," she tells me softly, coming to cup my cheeks, "I'll come back to you safe my Phoenix." Her lips are on mine then. She kisses me softly, sweetly. She tastes like cinnamon. I grip her biceps as I kiss her a little harder before she pulls away. "I love you Athena." She whispers for only me to hear before exiting through the door, pressing a button so the doors close and lock. My fingers come up to brush my lips where she kissed me. Lips that still tingle from her kiss.
"I'm going to get the ship moving." I tell the others, Wynnona's worrying be damned. Star yips his encouragement as the others nod.
"I'm coming with you." Jake tells me in his always sharp yet tired voice. Over these last couple weeks, I've enjoyed his company quite a lot. I nod and begin to pull at different grips of the floor, knowing there is a hidden way out in them. I find it, looking round before lowering myself into the small opening, crawling forward to make room for Jake. He comes in with me, closing the hatch behind himself.
"I say we head for the front of the ship where we saw the traitors last." I spit the words harshly before realization dawns on me. "I'm so sorry about Lillian Jake. This must be difficult for you with her being your sister." He smiles warmly at me before taking my hand.
"I said my goodbyes to my sister long ago. The person that has taken her place is, however, about to kill my husband and sister." He starts to crawl forward, past me towards the front of the ship. It warms my heart to see how their small family has grown even with all the years Wynnona spent away from Giovanni. Over the past year they have grown so close. We are just under where the hanger is when we hear footsteps.
"I swear I'm going to gut that stupid blonde bitch." Lillian's voice growls. I can only assume I am this blonde and glare. My hair is white not blonde. Jake and I share a look, knowing exactly what the other was thinking. I lead us into the next room, getting out of the small crawling space before dropping the hatch closed.
"We have to help them." Jake whispers to me as we look out the door to the room so see what's happening. "I have a bad feeling about this." I nod my understanding as I reach for the dagger preparing myself for anything. I hear shuffling feet and see Giovanni and Wynnona, both standing at the entrance to the hanger, ready to fight. Then I realize it's gotten all too warm in the ship. Something was terribly wrong. This was a trap.
I feel a strange tingling in my left middle finger. I look down to find a new stone forming around it. The black stone looms on my finger, a fancy gold band that it clings to wrapping around my finger. Terror shakes me when I remember the black stone is a loose canon, anything and everything while also being unplanned and unpredictable. This stone did however promise death.