[ the slump of his shoulders has her feeling oddly nostalgic, like for a brief moment they were much younger, had much less weight on their shoulders. but he doesn't look young - that's definitely something she's noticed - and the contradiction of it has her nearly pausing. nearly, but not quite, as the slow, constant steps of their feet is one of the more important parts to this conversation. they need to keep moving, even if all she wants to do is watch him a little more closely.
something about the city has changed him, and unless puberty decided to hit all at once once he arrived, magic must be at play. he looks older, nearly her and percy's age, and that is...interesting? difficult? curious? she doesn't know. but there's a different slant to his cheekbones, a different line to his shoulders. his eyes might be the same boy who used to be so obsessed with mythomagic, but everything else is different.
gods, he's taller than her now.
but she doesn't linger on that, despite the initial shock of it. instead, her eyes glaze over him in a single sweep, before turning to the ground ahead of them. she hides that initial anger (more like a pout) and instead focuses on the task at hand, the conversation, how she even wants this to go. nico walks alongside her, and she can feel the tension between them. aggressively ignores it in favor of her relaxed shoulders, her seemingly nonchalant air. one step at a time. ]
Which means you were here last time I was. [ there's a brief moment where her jaw tightens around the word, still annoyed at what she thinks happened. still upset that apparently gods are still messing with memories. still messing with her memories. still, apparently, trying to mess with her relationships too.
it's a beat later that she realizes what she said is something of a dumb statement to make - of course nico was here when she was last. of course he had a front row seat to what happened. she doesn't need to rehash that.
so instead, annabeth sighs. shakes her head a little. glances over to nico to show him she's not mad, before turning back to the path ahead. ]
→ action
something about the city has changed him, and unless puberty decided to hit all at once once he arrived, magic must be at play. he looks older, nearly her and percy's age, and that is...interesting? difficult? curious? she doesn't know. but there's a different slant to his cheekbones, a different line to his shoulders. his eyes might be the same boy who used to be so obsessed with mythomagic, but everything else is different.
gods, he's taller than her now.
but she doesn't linger on that, despite the initial shock of it. instead, her eyes glaze over him in a single sweep, before turning to the ground ahead of them. she hides that initial anger (more like a pout) and instead focuses on the task at hand, the conversation, how she even wants this to go. nico walks alongside her, and she can feel the tension between them. aggressively ignores it in favor of her relaxed shoulders, her seemingly nonchalant air. one step at a time. ]
Which means you were here last time I was. [ there's a brief moment where her jaw tightens around the word, still annoyed at what she thinks happened. still upset that apparently gods are still messing with memories. still messing with her memories. still, apparently, trying to mess with her relationships too.
it's a beat later that she realizes what she said is something of a dumb statement to make - of course nico was here when she was last. of course he had a front row seat to what happened. she doesn't need to rehash that.
so instead, annabeth sighs. shakes her head a little. glances over to nico to show him she's not mad, before turning back to the path ahead. ]
How do you like it here?