Seasons don't fear the reaper

[controlsthedie]

Who: Thanatos & OTA
Where: sleeper/passenger car hallways, greenhouse, training gym
When: Kazoo, Day 2 or 3 (after Jack's "Musical" Mayhem, before dance)
What: Death is being a dork: chores, flower growing, sword practice
Warnings: none

Chores: Death approaches the dust

[ A new month means a new type of chore assignment, apparently. At least this one doesn't need someone coaching Thanatos on what to do. He takes to the passenger area first, dressed in the train's standard blue hoodie and cargo pants to keep his own stuff clean. (Zagreus wanted to wear red not blue, so Thanatos just gave him the spare red hoodie he had.) Floating towards the ceiling with a feather duster in his hand, Thanatos gets to work.

Thanatos may not have paid much attention to Dusa while she worked (or at all really...), but he knows that she was always up high dusting the rafters. Sorry if he startles anyone going through a door to see legs dangling down. He's dusting the top of the door frame. ]

Greenhouse: Thanatos's Poppy Pot has sprouted!

[ Done with chores for the time being, Thanatos has returned to his usual way of dressing (chthonic death god style) and is crouched low to the floor. Mort is perched at the edge of a pot. They stare at nine tiny points of green pushing out of the soil. Thanatos is smiling, awestruck. (An expression that wasn't as rare when he was a godling days ago.) ]

They sprouted… they actually sprouted....

[ Thanatos speaks softly as if he fears being too loud would bring destruction upon them. Green. Growth. Life. He thought they would never sprout. They would never grow. Yet, here they were. Poppies, his and Hypnos's shared symbol, growing in this pot. Nurtured by Death of all people. ]

What do you think, Mort? Do they need more water?

Training gym: Trying not to float like a butterfly

[ There should be a mission coming up soon, and Thanatos is determined not to have a repeat of the last time. He had lost his powers, his divinity, and had become useless. He would have been a liability if other passengers hadn't come to his aid.

Gods, if Thanatos froze like that while Zagreus needed his help.... No. That's not going to happen. He's going to make sure that he can still fight, still protect… well, more than just Zagreus. It's still strange to think that he's developing a new role for himself on this train.

He summons his sword, not his scythe, and sets his feet upon the ground. Thanatos starts with a few basic motions when he notices he has company. ]

Pardon me. I'm not taking too much space, am I?

Comments

Training

[consider8]

[Eight walked into the training area, a luggage bag in hand. Her focus was set on the box that she barely registered the seemingly-young man training nearby. Ah... yeah, he might become a problem, but she can wait.]

I can... make do, or wait. I am in no rush. [But the way Eight is kneading her fingers implies she was hoping to use the space sooner rather than later.]

Another sword? [She speaks out her thoughts without thinking. Not that she didn't mind swords, but there definitely seemed to be a lot of sword users on the train.]

[controlsthedie]

[ Thanatos takes in the newcomer's appearance quickly, some underwater type of gorgon? It's been a while since he's seen one with their whole body.

Thinking the question is an honest one, he levitates off the ground, dispelling his sword and bringing out a scythe nearly as tall as him with a small flourish. ]

My scythe is my chosen weapon, but it's unwieldy to use if I'm trying to limit my powers. My sword is easier.

[consider8]

[Eight's eyes widened for a moment, awed by the awesome presence of such a weapon. The awe is short-lived and she is reminded of just how many on board the train is capable of manifesting their will physically like this. How strange that she would be considered to be counted among a number of practical demigods.]

[She was quick to dismiss such thoughts.]

[Hmm...] Does it make sense to limit your powers when the weapon you practice with is not the weapon you will use?

[controlsthedie]

A portion of the last mission took away our powers. I intend to be ready in case a similar situation happens in the future.

[ And he switches out his weapons again and touches the floor once more. Even with the lighter weapon, he feels so weighed down like this. ]

[consider8]

[Ah. That does make sense. If you are used to a certain power being available, you may become dependent on it. Fortunately, all of Eight's 'powers' are a natural part of her own physiology.]

Makes sense. [She nods and cracks open her suitcase, pulling out a freshly delivered long-barrelled water gun. A smile spread across her face as she lovingly begins to look over its dimensions, breathing in the freshly constructed finish and newly molded grooves.]

[Her eyes are shining at the sight of such well-crafted weaponry.]

[controlsthedie]

[ Thanatos isn't sure he's ever seen someone look so fondly at a weapon before, but his chances to observe such are fewer than one would think for Death. ]

What weapon is that? It looks similar in shape to Exagryph, but I wouldn't call them the same.

[ Exagryph is an Infernal Arm that Zagreus sometimes wields, an Adamant Rail. But this weapon is thin, like arrow. ]

[consider8]

[It was a good thing that he said something, she would have been running her fingers over the thing and checking it out for a good few... minutes... even when he was standing right in front of her.]

[As it stands, the question wakes her from her reverie. She even has to take a moment to remember the question she was just asked.]

This is a splat charger. It's a long-raged weapon which condenses ink to a focal point and fires it at 55 bar.

[controlsthedie]

[ He almost feels bad for interrupting her. He knows what it's like to get lost in one's thoughts. He does it often enough, leaving the other in silence. So, he can't really judge when it happens to him.

Thanatos also understood... some of that. ]

It uses ink to attack at long range? I've never heard of a weapon like that.

[ Does it make parchmentwork faster? ]

[consider8]

[There is only one thing that Eight would appreciate more than admiring a piece of finely crafted weaponry... and that's firing it. In a distant fourth its talking about it, as she'd much rather hear Sheldon talk than to have herself do it.]

[Which is not to say that she didn't appreciate it from time to time.]

I am not surprised. My people use ink-based weaponry as we can naturally produce our own ink. I had heard from some that ammunition can cost quite a lot, but I do not have that problem.

[A slight loss of penetrating power, but hey... that's the price for infinite ammo.]

[controlsthedie]

[ Thanatos nods. He's never had an issue of ammunition, but then again, he's a god and doesn't fight in that manner. He has seen Zagreus run out of ammo when using the Adamant Rail, but that was only for that burst of fire and not for the entire time he uses it.

Running completely out of ammunition sounds like a real hassle and danger. ]

Would you show me?

[ He has a hard time picturing it in his head. ]

[consider8]

Certainly.

[Eight smiled, giving Thanatos a nod. Though she's a little embarrassed, she can never disapprove of someone wanting to learn more. Especially if it is of her culture.]

[She takes a few cans and sets them to the far side of the gym before standing across from it. A quick aim down squirts off a small pool for her to dive into as though it was a small lake rather than the small puddle she placed on the ground. Gathering up all the ink she needs, she flipping out from the splotch before taking her aim down the sight.]

[With a loud pop! The splattershot fires a torrent of ink that easily smacks the can off from its stand. Two more shots go out in quick succession, and a satisfied Eight stands up, admiring how well the gun performed.]

[She looks over to Thanatos and gives him a satisfied thumbs up.]

[controlsthedie]

[ He watches silently, though he's surprised to see the other dive into the ink puddle. His eyes remain slightly wide when she pops back out, and Thanatos nearly misses her firing her shots. Had she just disappeared into that ink? Shifted? Melted?

He gives a firm nod at her thumbs up. ]

You've got a sharp aim.

[ The ink lines on the ground remain, and Thanatos's attention shift. ]

You dove into that ink without issue. Are you able to move freely through it as well?