Complications of Mortality | Druig x OC

XXI | Mandarin

They hadn't even made it up the driveway before the small figure spilled out of the door.

Akiva and Phastos walked in front, taking the first steps onto the nearly cut lawn. Thena, Makkari, and Druig wavered a bit behind, waiting to be introduced. Akiva's black boots pressed into the grass, pausing in place as she made eye contact with the blur.

"Akiva!" Jack belted, sprinting down the steps up to the house and running across the front lawn.

She bent down, knee almost touching the ground as her arms held out wide. Jack tumbled into her hug, wrapping his arms over her neck tightly as she picked him up into the air all together. She laughed at the collision, squeezing him tight and shaking him back and forth lightly. "What's up little man?"

Akiva pulled back lightly to witness the fleeting 'welcome home' kiss between Ben and Phastos, meeting their eyes as she attempted to outstretch her hand. With her grip still snug around Jack's waist, she held him like an American football under her arm. Jack broke into a fit of laughs as she shook Ben's hand, sharing an awkward smile.

She placed him back on the ground safely, resting her hand on top of his curls as she said hello.

"It's nice to see you in person," she grinned.

"Yeah, I was almost convinced you were trapped in that phone screen this entire time," Ben smiled back, a warm look in his eyes. It was refreshing, finally being back with other humans.

"You're shorter than I imagined," Akiva remarked, failing at fighting her smile.

Ben rolled his eyes, brushing her off with a knowing look on his face before moving to interact with the other three. Akiva followed his eyeline and looked at the others, motioning to them in order. "This is Makkari, Thena, and Druig. And no, they aren't friends from college," she told them. Akiva covered her mouth with the knuckle of her pointer finger as she made eye contact with Phastos. Her nerves were subdued as he nodded his head in acceptance, realizing that it was finally okay for them to know the truth.

Akiva patted between Jack's shoulders to direct him inside. A few moments later, they were all settled into various spots around the Stoss home.

Thena had joined Akiva in the kitchen, working on making lunch for the little one. He had lots of questions to ask, and they were the only ones that had the patience to answer all of them. He stood next to the counter, small hands reaching up to grip the edge of it as he looked up at Thena.

"So you're a superhero?" he asked lightly, tilting his head slightly as he looked at her. He believed it fully well, seeing as it looked like she was ripped straight out of some comic book pages. Thena nodded her head, a little smile on her lips.

Akiva dipped a silver knife into a jar of peanut butter, adjusting the handle in between her fingers as she smeared it over a slice of toasted bread.

"Do you have powers? Or are you like batman?" he asked.

Akiva closed her eyes for a second to take in the question, trying not to laugh. It was a reasonable one, but it was still funny to think of Thena adorning a bat suit.

"I have powers," Thena explained warmly. "I am the goddess of war, and I can summon and create any weapon I can imagine," she whispered.

Jack looked around the cupboards, drumming his fingers on the countertop before pointing straight in the air. "Can you grab that for me?" he asked, finger guiding up to a mandarin orange in a fruit bowl. Akiva wasn't paying attention, focused on the even distribution of grape jelly on the other side of toast.

She pressed them together, matching up the corners before using the knife to make a diagonal cut.

Suddenly, the sound of sharp metal erupted in the air. A spear flew passed her face, impaling the center of the orange and lifting it from the shelf.