Unspooling the threads

Fires dancing 3

Too similar to not be repelled, too similar to not be harmonious.

Two years.

Akira gets an entire two years of undivided Leo attention, which includes some long-winded but very informative lessons on Greek Mythology, because ignorance is only bliss when your life isn't in constant danger. He even gets to learn how to work his way around machines, and how to cook, and about the dangers of humans, or mortals, as Leo calls them; all of which will come in handy when Leo eventually has to leave.

It's not all that surprising, really, because Leo's told Akira as much about his job as he feasibly could; which isn't much, all things considered, but after two years of surviving in the world of demis, Akira understands.

They've been through a lot, not just in terms of things attacking them, but also because Leo wants Akira to get an education, so they've had to deal with 'mortals' a lot more; Akira still doesn't know how Leo got him inscribed into the local public school, and he's afraid to ask. It's not so ridiculous, as sometimes Leo is down-right terrifying, but given his general treatment of Akira, it's a little bit silly.

The thing about getting Akira into a school is that he now has a new name, one that they picked by going into a gift-shop, and spinning one of those displays with keychains full of common names, and Leo snatching something while it spun. Thus he is now known in school as Keith, which Leo insisted was a good thing, because it meant he'd get used to the name easier if he was constantly being called by it.

And Akira had to get used to the name, it was important that he did; he somehow managed to ask Leo about it, half-expecting some normal reason, because they weren't technically supposed to be living by themselves as a pair of underage kids. Leo gave him a sharp look.

"Names have power"

He used the exact same tone he did when he shared about his own experience in the system, the same tone he used when explaining how to run properly; something urgent, and scarred, and painfully truthful. And he long since proven to be trust worthy, so Akira simply nodded solemnly and promised to keep his name safe.

Which means, he still refers to himself as Akira in thought, despite growing comfortable with being called Keith, because if he takes too much liking to it, Keith will become his name too, and it'd would all have been moot.

"Does that mean your name isn't Leo?"

Leo laughs at that, a chirping little sound that spreads over Akira like warmth, and transforms Leo from mysterious entity into barely-teenage boy.

"Leo's my given name, but my ladies have named me Κοράκι"

Akira's also been learning Ancient Greek, after pleading with Leo for the first week, with help from both the demigod, and every book on the language the public library possessed. They didn't have the kind of money to get Akira a teacher on a dead language; but thankfully, Leo said he'd have a solution to the issue by the time he came back from this job.

"Should be a quick run, really, I'm not actually supposed to partake in the current power struggle"

Akira frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Leo smiled softly, reaching out to ruffle his head; they've both been getting re-acquainted with physical contact, if only so they'd both stop jumping every time someone so much as bumped into them.

"Sometimes you gotta play background character to someone else's hero story chico"

Akira huffs.