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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jul 10, 2021 5:18:27 GMT -5
Sadly, it wasn't something which could last. Even those who slept and dreamed more peacefully than Sam could ever manage probably wouldn't have been able to keep up what was going on for that long.
Instead, Sam eventually shifted, his brow creasing as he seemed to come out of his death-like state. Eventually, he uncurled from his sleeping position, seeming groggy and confused about where he was.
"What's going on?" he asked. It could be assumed he was asking Nico, but that wasn't a requirement.
There was a lot of options to how Sam could have reacted to waking up in the House, but edging closer to Nico might not have been his most awake thought.
He did scoot away again a second later, rubbing his eyes and waking up a bit more however.
"Are we still safe?" he asked, sounding more awake now.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 10, 2021 21:01:11 GMT -5
Nico shifted, a soft smile crossing his features as he realized that Sam was waking up. His tense muscles relaxed, and he removed his hand from the hilt of his sword. He shifted so that Sam would have a little bit more space, then let his eyes widen as he realized Sam was instinctively moving towards him. That was… unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome. He may have been sensitive about touch, but it was rather sweet to see Sam automatically shifting towards him as his first impulse after waking up. Nico felt his heart start to quicken in his chest, but there wasn’t really anything he could do to stop that. If Sam noticed… well, then they would deal with that. For now…
“We’re safe,” he confirmed, looking around the room. “Nothing’s changed since you drifted off, so… yeah. We’re still here, and we’re still good. Did… did you sleep okay?” Nico asked, searching Sam’s expression for a long moment. He hadn’t seemed to have any nightmares, but that gave no indication about whether the sleep had actually been restful.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jul 26, 2021 6:54:54 GMT -5
Sam wasn't sure how to describe sleeping as a vampire. It was a bit like just not sleeping at all. Closing his eyes, stopping existing for a bit, and then waking up. Unless he dreamed. There seemed to only be two extremes to his sleeping-existence and it wasn't one he enjoyed overly much. At least it was better than nightmares.
"It was alright," he said, pulling all his limbs back toward himself to best let Nico have his room. "It's ... it's odd. Sleeping, that is. It's not like a human does. Not anymore."
It seemed like the first time he'd willingly mentioned the changes from between him being a vampire and being a human. So overall it was a hesitant response. He truly did not know how best to handle the speaking part of admitting part of himself to Nico. But he did so anyway and it was a slight relief. Just to mention in some way that all of this was hard on him.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 26, 2021 14:33:20 GMT -5
Nico didn’t have any way to understand what sleeping as vampire was like. He didn’t particularly enjoy sleeping as a human – it was just…. Something he had to do in order to survive. And sometimes his sleep was plagued by nightmares. Sometimes the nightmares turned out to be true. He figured that wasn’t the experience most people had with sleeping, so perhaps demigods slept differently than other humans as well. Not to mention that he could visit dreams, if he focused at it. It was one part of his powers that he hadn’t practiced much, so he didn’t really have an understanding of how it worked.
“That… makes sense,” Nico said softly, trying to sound as supportive as possible. There was a touch of sadness in Sam’s tone, if Nico was reading it right, and he wanted to make that sadness better, but he couldn’t make Sam human again. He couldn’t change the root of the problem. In his eyes, there was nothing wrong with being a vampire, but it was obviously something that caused Sam a great deal of distress. Sam didn’t need to be fixed, but if Nico could have helped…
“Do you at least feel a bit more rested?”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Aug 3, 2021 13:59:00 GMT -5
Sam wasn't sure if rested was the right word for it, but he nodded. He found that he was slightly ... sharper.
"I think so," he said. Then he looked over Nico and smiled slightly. "Thank you. I think I'm doing better."
At least he hoped that was the case. He felt a bit like there was a lot going on that he could say. Too much, really. But he had no particular interest to go into that.
"What ... what should we do now?"
He looked toward the hallway, considering the doors that he knew would be there. He was wondering whether they would be going to a room later. Or whether there was problems of Nico's. He wanted to address them if there were.
He sat up a bit, hugging his legs close to his chest. Then he asked, "Is there anything you need? Anything I can do for you?"
He was hoping that Nico wouldn't lie to him about that.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Aug 3, 2021 22:05:04 GMT -5
Nico was fairly certain he needed some sleep himself, but he had no clue if rest in the House transferred over to mean wakefulness in his world. He doubted it did, so he decided not to mention his exhaustion to Sam. Surely it was evident enough on his features that the boy would be able to tell it was there. Was that lying, then? Omitting that part of the truth? Guilt squirmed in Nico’s stomach as he looked up at Sam, trying to decide exactly how to answer him. Sam had been candid with him, so he owed Sam the same respect… right? He searched Sam’s eyes for a long moment before he sank back just a little bit.
“I think… maybe now would be a good time to do a room?” Nico suggested, awkwardly rubbing at his arm. “I mean… there’s a lot going on in my world, and I’ll tell you about it if you want to know, but it’s not really anything you need to worry about. It’s just… that I have to be a lot more awake than I’m feeling. And I’m not sure I’ll be able to do much about that in the House. I’d rather… I guess I’d rather do something that’s going to keep me awake enough that I’m aware when I blink back.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Aug 8, 2021 21:47:03 GMT -5
That seemed like a good idea to Sam. At least as much of one that it could be when he was tired. But he nodded. "I think that's a good idea."
Only he didn't actually want to get up. Instead, he ended up pressing his nose against Nico's arm and closed his eyes again. It was nice, to do a room together and all, but he was still a bit tired from having been sleeping here and now he didn't feel energetic enough to get up.
So he just stayed close to Nico, eyes half closed.
Eventually, he did mutter, "If you want me to get up, I can. Sorry."
He felt himself squashing down some awkwardness. It was hard to put the thought into words, but he just ... didn't want to get up just yet.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Aug 9, 2021 0:37:39 GMT -5
Nico didn’t move as Sam began to more or less burrow into him. He could feel the soft flutter of Sam’s eyelashes against his arm, and it sent a flutter of warmth through him. He made sure not to move in case it would make Sam feel unwelcome. He didn’t want that for his friend. He didn’t want this moment to end because Sam felt like he couldn’t lean on Nico, or because he had decided that he wasn’t welcome, or…
“You don’t need to get up,” Nico murmured, shifting just enough that he was able to run one hand gently through Sam’s curls. He pried one gently apart from the others, twirling it around the tip of his finger as he thought. “You should keep resting, if you want. Or… or maybe we can just stay here for a bit. I’m… I’m okay with that. If you are, I mean.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Aug 9, 2021 19:30:24 GMT -5
"Alright, I wont then," Sam murmured. He did still sound tired. He also sounded very comfortable. His head even leaned a bit to let Nico tug at one of his curls a bit better. That, and the fact that he was just generally feeling comfortable where he was.
"I'm okay with that," he said softly.
His nose was pressed against Nico, which was probably the only major distraction which he really had about all of this. He could smell him, his blood, very, very close. He wasn't sure what to do about that, so, to the best of his ability, he ignored it. Instead he just kept himself cuddled up against Nico, listening to his heartbeat. It was very comforting, to say the least.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Aug 10, 2021 1:13:58 GMT -5
Nico’s smile was genuine and soft, almost indistinguishable from the rest of his expression. It was there, though. This was Nico content. It had been a very long time since he’d last felt contentment. He curled a little bit closer to Sam, twirling another curl between his fingers. He had feeling that Sam would protest if that wasn’t alright. This was… comfortable. Nico didn’t feel like elaborating on why, but he knew, deep down. He wasn’t going to admit it, though. He would keep saying that he didn’t know why he didn’t want to move. He would keep saying that they had both just gotten comfortable. It was a believable enough lie, right?
Nico fell silent for a long moment, Sam’s skin cool against his own. It was nice, he thought, that he could change the temperature of the room. It meant that he could make his own hands as cold as Sam’s. He could pretend that they were both alive, both human, if only for a second.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Aug 11, 2021 3:07:19 GMT -5
From the way that Sam had closed his eyes and continued to rest his head against Nico's shoulder, there was a high possibility that Sam was falling asleep on Nico rather than the planned room that they had been going to do just a couple seconds ago. Whether he caught on to Nico's thoughts was up for debate, but if he had, he wasn't going to draw attention to it any more than Nico was going to.
He did hear Nico's heartbeat though. He couldn't feel the shift in temperature, only the sensation of Nico's heart growing slightly slower. Which wasn't saying much, since his heartbeat was already more accelerated than usual.
"I can leave if you need?" Sam eventually said doubtfully. Sleepily too, but even still. He wasn't sure why he was doing this. It was probably causing more harm than good. But at the same time, a lot more of his reservations weren't as strong right now. Maybe all of this was okay and he was just thinking too hard on it.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Aug 11, 2021 15:01:19 GMT -5
Nico didn’t think he would mind if Sam just… fell asleep there. It was comfortable, and though Nico’s heart was beating faster than he wanted it to, he didn’t mind if Sam heard. He didn’t know how to deal with feelings. He had already messed up any chances he’d had with Sam… the truth was, he didn’t know if he had any chances at all. If he could redo that conversation… would he? He didn’t know how Sam felt. He hadn’t allowed Sam to speak his feelings. Nico pushed the thought away. He couldn’t change the past, he could just… deal with the future.
“You don’t need to leave,” Nico replied after a long moment, letting his hand drop down to his lap instead of curling in Sam’s hair. “This is… nice. You don’t need to leave unless… unless you’re uncomfortable, in which case…” he trailed off, biting his lip as he realized that saying the wrong thing could ruin the moment.
“This is nice,” he repeated, deciding that was the best place to leave it.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Aug 15, 2021 0:21:46 GMT -5
Sam heard the pause and frowned, eyes still closed through whatever it was that he probably should have been paying attention to. After Nico had finished, he cracked an eyelid open and looked at the other boy. Then he reached out and lifted Nico's hand back to his head.
"Mmmmm fine," he sleepily muttered. Meaning 'I'm fine' but it was pretty garbled. His eyes were already closing again. Nico would have to make of that what he willed. Sam just assumed that all of this was half-dream right now anyway. He was fine with things how they were. With that in mind, he let his own hand drop back to where it had been.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Aug 15, 2021 0:59:42 GMT -5
Nico gave a quiet laugh, startled as the sound issued from him. It was rare to see Nico di Angelo smiling. Rarer for it to be a genuine smile, one that reached his eyes. Rarer still for him to laugh. He couldn’t recall the last time he had, but he supposed it didn’t really matter. What mattered was that his hand was back in Sam’s hair and he obediently began combing through his curls once more. Sam was endearing like this, when it didn’t really seem like he was aware of what he was doing. When he was sleepy and time didn’t feel like it was real, and the two of them may as well have been in their own separate bubble, protected from the rest of the world.
“Good,” Nico breathed, letting a curl wrap gently around his finger before he pulled it lightly and let it spring back into place.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Aug 22, 2021 3:08:32 GMT -5
Sam was quiet and seemed to completely poor himself against Nico's shoulder. Asleep now. Properly again. Though it must have been lighter, since he wasn't going corpse-like. Just very sleepily flopped. Maybe 'dozing' was a better word.
He looked comfortable. Maybe that was telling about how safe he felt around Nico. He was completely quiet for now.
It must have been several minutes later. Five, perhaps a bit more. Then his eyes slowly opened. Clearly he hadn't been driven to anything deeper when it came to sleep. But he did look a lot more awake now. He very slowly blinked. Then he lifted his head.
"We were going to do a room," he noted. He'd forgotten, so he felt. And he was sure that Nico didn't want a sleepy vampire on his arm. Why would he?
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Aug 23, 2021 1:39:01 GMT -5
Nico glanced over at Sam as he seemed to wake up for good, though he hadn’t mind him resting against him. It had been sweet, actually… he pushed the thought away, aware of the way color rose in his cheeks. He didn’t mind Sam laying on him. He didn’t mind being close to him, even if it was because Sam needed somewhere comfortable to sleep. Bony as he was, he doubted he was the most comfortable pillow, but Sam hadn’t moved away. Nico was doing his best not to do anything that would make him want to.
“Yes, we were,” he replied after a moment, glancing over to the hallway. “I’m okay staying here, though, if that’s what you’d prefer. I mean… a room would be nice, but if you need rest…” he trailed off, lamely shrugging as he tried to figure out how to best end his sentence. “You seem… a little bit more well rested this time. I’d be happy to try to find a nice room.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Aug 30, 2021 1:27:05 GMT -5
Sam wondered if there was an undertone he was missing. Nico seemed more flustered than what Sam was used to.
Still tired enough to not have as much idea about the personal space he was invading, Sam leaned over and rested his ear near Nico's heart.
It took him a second to realize what he was doing. Then he blinked and pulled away. He was slightly embarrassed.
"S-sorry. You just seemed ... flustered."
That seemed to make it worse, if Sam was honest. There seemed like a whole lot of better ways that he could have phrased that. He pushed away, giving him and Nico a bit of space between them. Then he wondered if that was what he should have done. Nothing really felt right. Not in the way that would be best for Nico. Or him either.
He started rubbing at his necklace with one hand and his hair with the other.
"Uh ..." he said.
Now he just felt like the earth would look very nice if it would open up and eat him. Very nice indeed.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Aug 30, 2021 2:56:29 GMT -5
Nico was well aware that Sam could hear his heartbeat even without his ear pressed against Nico’s heart. Still, Nico couldn’t help the flush that crept up his cheeks, coloring his usually pale skin. He also couldn’t help the tiny smile that pressed at his lips. Sam was comfortable enough here to rest like that. He felt safe. Nico felt safe, too… he knew that this moment could be interrupted at any time, but part of him trusted the House not to. Sam deserved to rest. He deserved the chance to just exist without having to make hard decisions. Nico could give him a few minutes to do that, at least.
“Sorry,” Nico mumbled as Sam pulled away, making sure to pull his hands back into his lap. “I… it was fine, by the way.” He didn’t know if Sam had been okay, but… he hadn’t had any issue with the way Sam had been resting. Except, perhaps, that his heart was incredibly traitorous and liked to beat a little bit faster when Sam was nearby.
“If… you’re more well rested now, we could uh… do a room… or something.” Hopefully that would help bypass some of the momentary awkwardness. Hopefully.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Sept 3, 2021 6:26:27 GMT -5
Sam slowly stood up, aware that this situation was a bit awkward. But he wasn't sure what else to do other than to smile wanly at Nico and nod once.
"That ... er ... sounds like a good plan."
He nodded in the direction of the hallway and then equally slowly started walking in that direction. His hair was rumpled and he ran a hand through it as he walked, glancing back at Nico now and again.
Nervous. Maybe a bit pleased.
But then he was in the hallway, faced with the endless array of doors. It was then he asked Nico, "Could you pick?"
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 4, 2021 3:14:32 GMT -5
Nico watched Sam try to fix his hair, and a thought ran through his own mind unbidden: I’d like to run my fingers through it. A blush worked its way up Nico’s cheeks as he processed what he had just thought. Which also made him realize that Sam could probably hear the movement of his blood into his cheeks. Nico didn’t know if gold eyes were a thing that could happen to any vampire, but he was intensely grateful that if it was, it hadn’t happened to Sam yet. It meant that Sam couldn’t read his mind right now, even if he could tell Nico was blushing.
“Sure,” Nico murmured, voice a little too high. He pushed ahead, doing his best not to look at Sam and make his blush any more obvious than it already was.
“This one?” Nico pulled open a door, holding it open for Sam to go through.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Sept 26, 2021 6:27:12 GMT -5
Sam continued into the room, glancing back as he entered as Nico. He smiled slightly, though the smile looked a bit odd on his face - he was sure - since he had noticed the flush to Nico's face.
He just wasn't sure how to respond to it. How did someone respond to that, after all? Those kinds of things were ... well.
He pushed the thought away and continued properly into the room, looking around as he did.
Huh.
It looked like an ice-skating rink, with the door perched on the edge of it. Not at risk of sending them off into the rink if they didn't want to go, but enough that Sam could tell what the room's intent was.
He glanced around. There was a little booth with skate in it.
Huh indeed.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 26, 2021 20:15:25 GMT -5
“Oh,” Nico murmured, eyes widening as they fell on the ice-skating rink. “Shall we?” he asked, stepping through the doorway and out onto the ice. It was slippery, as expected. Not slippery enough that he fell, but enough that he was aware he might, if he happened to lose his balance. Simple: he just had to keep his balance. Sometimes Camp Half-Blood’s training came in handy. His lips twitched into a small smile as he noticed the booth up ahead. They would have to walk just a little way on the ice to get there, but it was close enough to the snow-covered sides of the rink that they had at least a little bit of purchase on the ground. Nico took a tentative step forward, then looked back at Sam and reached out his hand in case Sam needed the extra stability.
“Have you ever ice-skated before?” Nico asked, tilting his head at Sam for a moment before he began to once again make his way towards the booth with skates.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Oct 26, 2021 2:53:30 GMT -5
(Bump due to life, will return, just don't wanna lose.)
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Oct 27, 2021 1:08:58 GMT -5
Sam didn't need the stability, but he still reached out and took Nico's hand. He knew that he'd likely be able to keep his balance long past when Nico fell over. He felt like he knew how to keep himself steady.
But he wanted to hold Nico's hand. He firmly grasped and shook his head.
"I haven't before. It doesn't snow where I am and we don't really get ice."
That was what made it fun, he guessed. He was hoping that all of this would be fun.
"Have you? Do you know how?"
He might have been able to keep his balance - probably - but he still didn't know how to ice skate.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 3, 2021 2:49:56 GMT -5
Nico blinked looked over at Sam, a wide smile pulling at his lips. He didn’t smile easily, but something about Sam made it a little bit easier. It was like Sam gave him a reason to smile, even when the rest of the world felt too heavy to carry. It almost felt like he didn’t need to be carrying it when he was around Sam.
“I’ve been before. Not often, but… often enough to know how to do it,” he replied, glancing once again at the ice. “It’s not that hard. We can stick near the edges so we don’t have to worry so much about falling over. The edges are nice, because there’s usually something that you can hang onto. It looks like there is here, too…” he moved towards it, grabbing onto the railing.
“Do you… feel comfortable coming out onto the ice?”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Nov 15, 2021 13:49:02 GMT -5
Sam nodded slowly and hurried onto the ice behind Nico. Then half reached for his hand before he looked a bit disappointed. It seemed like that would be a bit awkward, all things considered.
Sam was very, very wobbly. He didn't seem in particular risk of falling, but he obviously didn't know how to skate. What he did was he reached out, holding the railing, and started to pull himself along by it. Slowly. And without any sort of movement in his legs at all.
"This ... isn't bad," he admitted, sounding a bit doubtful as he watched Nico. He tried briefly to lift a leg and at once wobbled dangerously. He set it down again.
"What do you do after you're on the ice, then?"
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 25, 2021 0:22:18 GMT -5
Nico caught Sam’s glance, then made an executive decision. He would have the rest of his life to regret it if he wanted to. There were very few times Nico di Angelo did what he really wanted to do. Usually he kept himself restrained. Usually, he did what was best for the people around him because he wasn’t sure he deserved to act on his own desires. This was a fragile situation, but for once Nico didn’t let himself care what might happen if it shattered.
Before he could second guess himself, he slipped his hand into Sam’s. They were both cold, but it didn’t matter. They could both pretend it was because of the ice, if they wanted.
“You just sort of… push yourself along,” he explained, lightly drawing Sam away from the wall and the railing. “Just… hold onto me; I’ll show you.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Dec 23, 2021 18:42:27 GMT -5
That was exactly what Samuel did. But he couldn't help beaming. Beaming and trying not to squeeze Nico's hand too much. It was nice having someone close that didn't think he was a monster ...
He pushed that thought out of his head. It didn't matter here. Here, only this mattered.
And here, he was struggling to ice-skate. So he did his absolute best to follow along with Nico as best that he could. From there, it was really more a matter of actually pushing away with his feet and not bringing the demigod down with him.
"H-how did you get so good?" he asked, amazed. "Have you done this in the House before?"
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