[grimmoired] magnus + nico

[toughchoices]

© TESSISAMESS

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prologue - friday afternoon;

[toughchoices]

[That was, uh. That was certainly a thing. Reyna can't put her finger on how she's feeling, exactly. She's disoriented, and confused, and upset, and... mostly, she's angry. Very, very angry, because these women are playing games with their lives.

There was never any avoiding, but blood has been spilt, so it's imperative they all get on the same page. Someone out there drew first blood. She can only pray it wasn't any of the demigods.

She's sure it wasn't Nico, at least. If he was going to kill someone, he'd have brought her with him. But they need to track down Magnus, too, and so they do.]

Before the trial tomorrow — I think all three of us should talk.

sure did open this and then forgot, fuck

[resumed]

[He's antsy and impatient when the three of them meet up. He doesn't like that he was moved without permission and that he doesn't remember, but most of all he hates that this is the start of the war. He didn't want another war on their hands, but that's just the price to pay for being a demigod.

As it is, he's glowering at the ceiling and watching the two of them.]

I agree. It'd help to know that we're all on the same page.

meanwhile i napped and just opened this high fives all around

[wearys]

[ being that reyna and nico are both people annabeth knows, it makes them a little more trustworthy. but not too much, because unfortunately he can't call his cousin up and ask her just how trustworthy they are.

but on a personal level, he doesn't think either of them did the murdering. mostly because they were found unconscious, that. sort of gives them a decent alibi or something.

he's not even surprised that someone got up to murdering already, he lives in a hotel where killing each other is literally an everyday ordeal almost. bit different, but still. ever done yoga to the death? ]

All right, I don't see why not.

[toughchoices]

Just to confirm—

[She's just going to straight-up ask Magnus this and I'm sorry.]

You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?

[She doesn't think so. A relative of Annabeth's could never be so stupid as to make the first move in a situation like this... but it's better to lay this all out on the table and make it absolutely certain.]

[resumed]

[...he's not even going to answer because he assumes that Reyna's not even asking him. Instead he's just going to give Magnus a curious look. Well? Did you?]

[wearys]

[ wow nico rude.

no, but magnus appreciates the straight-forwardness and doesn't mind? ]

No. Besides the fact that I really am not, like, cut out for murder, it'd be pretty dumb to be the first jackass to go and murder someone. Like that's just asking for death, which I try to avoid usually.

Based on you guys' situations this morning, I've sort of ruled you both out as the killer, for the record. I mean, unless one of you wants to correct me.

[toughchoices]

[Reyna smiles faintly.]

Spoken like a true cousin of Annabeth.

["It'd be pretty dumb," indeed. She trusts him because she trusts her, and that will be enough to get them to last long enough for real trust to be built up between the three of them, most likely.]

No, we didn't have anything to do with it. [She doesn't bother checking with Nico; he can speak for himself if she's wrong. ...but she doesn't think she is.] But people are going to be grasping at straws if if things aren't easy to figure out tomorrow. Nico and I may come under suspicion simply because we were outside when you all were in your rooms.

[resumed]

Which I still don't understand, by the way. [Piping up finally even as he continues to watch Magnus closely.] Nobody's still sure how we and those other people ended up scattered through the castle, right?

[But he shrugs in Magnus's direction.] Thanks for not being a murderer.

[wearys]

[ that's nicest compliment he's ever received in his life. ]

Maybe that was why? To throw us off of the actual killer. It doesn't seem too wild for the killer to have left their room and come back, all things considered. Plus it's just confused the whole stupid thing.

I'd assume the murderer dragged you guys and the others to those places-- or had some kind of help.

chapter two - saturday;

[toughchoices]

[well, THAT sure as fuck happened

Reyna looks as though she's equal parts frustrated and anxious when they meet up after the trial. If Sandalphon's plan works, great - that's truly the most minimal number of lives that could have possibly been lost this week.

But what if it doesn't? keeps nagging at her, though.

When Nico and Magnus arrive, she nods to them both but doesn't speak just yet.]

[wearys]

[ it sure did. and I'm not saying magnus spent a chunk of the trial building a chicken nugget tower or anything, but maybe.

he gives her a nod in return, but does speak. ]

So, yeah, that was a thing.

[ yeah that's all he says. ]

[resumed]

[Because Magnus was making a chicken nugget tower, the demigods are still outside. And while they're lingering, Nico's standing closer to the glass case with Natsuo's body. He's contemplating, giving it a cursory look and quietly thinking to himself.]

...did either of you see this coming?

[toughchoices]

No. If I had - there would have been no need to...

[suggest. midtrial murder.

she looks to nico.]

...is it going to work?

[wearys]

Nope. Like, I'd wondered if there'd ever be some kind of fairy tale bullshit about kissing a princess back to life, didn't expected we'd find out like this.

[ he jengas out a chicken nugget. ]

It either will or it won't, I guess? If that's Sandalphon's ability, then it... should?

[resumed]

[Okay j/k it's an empty glass case. So. He's still staring at it with his back to the others and he frowns a little more. ]

...something shifted. I don't know how or what, but something shifted after the kiss.

[toughchoices]

[but does he EAT the chicken nugget

Reyna nods, looking slightly hopeful when Magnus speaks up - and then when Nico does, she lets out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.]

That's... a good sign. I think.

[Natsuo was dead before. If something changed after the kiss, then...]

[wearys]

[ after a moment he does eat it. it's free food? you don't waste free food.

he relaxes when nico speaks, too. that's a good sign, right? ]

Unless it's a bad shift, but I don't know how that would make sense. So, I guess tomorrow or something Natsuo will just... pop back to life, you think?

chapter four - sunday;

[toughchoices]

[It's time for another meeting of demigods!! Reyna gets right to business once they're all gathered.]

I know who one of the Historians is.

[wearys]

Seriously? How'd you manage that?

[ honestly magnus is picturing reyna giving someone a shakedown for info. ]

[resumed]

[He's just going to stare at her incredulously.]

I'm going to guess that they were telling the truth then since Aurum would have noticed otherwise.

[toughchoices]

Aurum was looking for an excuse to bite him, anyway - he certainly would have gone for it if he was lying.

[so, yeah. she's relatively certain he was telling the truth.]

It's my partner - he told me when he was attempting to apologize to me for the last trial [...] I should have told the two of you right away, but I waited to make sure I wasn't doing it out of anger with him.

[wearys]

[ eyebrows raise ]

That's fair. This week was a lucky one, sort of ish.

[resumed]

[And the expression moves to something unhappier.]

That's a pretty poor attempt at an apology. [He's going to hold a grudge against Waver forever, apparently.] So what happens now? There's a whole group of them, right? What did he say?

[toughchoices]

[that's a FATAL FLAW nico maybe don't do that!!]

He said that he and the other have been in a war like this before. The one from a year ago - I'm assuming it was the same one as Beauty and the Beast. [She crosses her arms.] Before the first death, he and the others already knew that we'd be investigating on Friday, having a trial on Saturday, and executing someone on Sunday. But he claims they didn't know much else aside from that - until now.

[Whatever changed things for him is probably what caused the existence of the Historians to be outed to the group at large.]

He's started to regain memories of the war from a year ago. If that's the case - as angry as I am with him, he needs to stay alive. He owes me, so we can make him tell us whatever it is he learns with each new memory.

[wearys]

Did you punch him in the face for his bad apology?

[ just curious ]

Gods it's shitty that this has happened before. [ like ew? gross. stop. stop murder. ] Has he or his cohorts remembered anything about how to end this?