Waking Up Caden.

[themarpessa]

I enter the bedroom, mostly dark with a few beams of dusty light peeking in through the unhooked windows. Caden is sprawled across his bed, his sheets twisted and twined between his limbs.

His small chest rises and falls with his deep breathes. His hair is in disarray, sticking up slightly in the back and obscuring his face.

I tread

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[theperseus]

Something touches my shoulder and the sensation of being engulfed in warm darkness begins to recede.

"Fuck...Alexis. I'm up," I grumble and roll over.

[themarpessa]

I roll my eyes, and feel a smile twitch at my lips as he mumbles groggily.

"It's Cassie, you idiot," I chime sweetly and settle my fingers on his unclothed shoulder blade. I lean over him, some of my hair falling across his arm. He stirs again at the contact. Muttering something I can’t understand into his pillow.

"Get up!" I shout into his ear impatiently, and am knocked back when Caden abruptly jolts forward.

[theperseus]

"What the fucking hell?!"

I shoot up, irrationally furious.

It takes a minute for my vision to clear, for me to figure out where I am. And then I notice the struggling thing at my bedside.

"Cassie!" I realize too late that I am holding a fistful of her (blond?) hair, and I'm still pulling it. Quickly, I let go. "Jesus Christ. Are you okay?"

[themarpessa]

"O. ow. ow!" I whimper in an embarrassingly girlie voice, before he relinquishes his grip.

My fingers shoot up to rub my smarting scalp, and I wince as they try to arrange my long hair back into order.

"Alexis, was right. You are dangerous to wake up." I chuckle softly, though still cringing from the pain. I toss the note he left on the laundry upon his lap.

"I came to thank you for the clean clothes," I grin, and point to his drawing, "And for the portrait of course."

[themarpessa]

"What?" I don a sickeningly sweet voice, "Can't I spend time with my sweet, wonderful friend Caden?"

[theperseus]

"Not unless you intend to spend it sleeping," I snort, looking back to the ceiling.

[themarpessa]

"It's like one o'clock. Caden. Seriously. Get over it."

I sit up and leaning over him, I cock a eyebrow mischievously.

"We can go on an adventure in the city again, that was fun."

Please. I beg internally. I need you, make the whiteness retreat.

[theperseus]

"We've adventured in the city like....50 times now," I grumble. "Sleep sounds more interesting."

I laugh a little, looking away from her face.

"You could always sleep with me," I tease. "That might be interesting."

[themarpessa]

"Fine. Just as long as we’re away from our little fucking campsite here. I'm sick of everyone." I conclude, perhaps too harshly.

I'm sick of Ryan.

I abhor this antagonism of him. How it flies of me, before I realize I’m feeling it. How inexplicably offended I am by his cold stares and empty expressions. Since the dreams, it’s become easier to resent them all. To detach myself a little more each day. Something has wedged between Ryan and I, irrevocably. In his fathomless stare, I am suffocating, overwhelmed by his need for me. Unable to help him or pull him back to some state that resembles humanity-so instead I can do nothing but shove him away in despair.

I knead absentmindedly at the blue shadows under my eyes, and yawn. I fall back on Caden’s bed, curling against his knees and resting my head on his feet, and wait for an answer. A distraction. Maybe even for salvation.

Anything.

[theperseus]

I pull my legs out from under her and swing them off the side of the bed.

"Let's go then," I say, choosing to ignore her sharp tone.

I stand, fiddling with the waistband of my trousers, and move to a chest full of clothes in the corner. Silently, I rummage around for a tunic.

[themarpessa]

My eyelids flutter shut for a moment, as I wait for him to dress. When he's finished I slowly slide off the bed and follow him out the door.

The sun hits off Caden's yellow tunic and my hair like gold coins. I'm humming some old song I used to love, skipping slightly ahead of my companion as I lead him down the path to the temple.

I turn and smirk at him as I allow him to catch up.

[theperseus]

I roll my eyes at her smirk, trying to be playful. I feel distinctly unsettled, though. Her blond hair looks wrong on her; it's abnormal and surreal, like a fluttering halo or crown. It almost shimmers in the sunlight and...

I look away. I don't like it.

"You're awfully peppy today," I call, jogging slightly to catch up with her.

[themarpessa]

I break the trance the sky holds on me, and turning, I see Caden shuffling grimly behind me.

I halt, and stand until he reaches my side and I nudge him gently.

"Look." I whisper against his ear, pointing to the tall, vine-covered building before us.

"A temple of Zeus."

[theperseus]

Looking at the temple is like taking a swift kick to the gut. I stand very still for a moment and the world feels incongruous and unbalanced.

The building itself is beautiful and archaic. It feels old and enchanted and it's all I can do to keep myself from taking a step back. My head doesn't hurt, oddly, but I feel incredibly out of place.

The sound of quiet chanting drifts through the air and, looking around, I see a train of people moving down a ridge to the temple.

"Is it a ceremony or something?" I whisper.

[themarpessa]

"They are making their offerings to Zeus." I breath excitedly, the pounding of those dancing inside the temple echoing through my head.

"They are praying for his favor. To bless them, and bestow upon them gifts. So they can be more like him, like a god."

I turn and look him darkly in the eyes, our faces barely two inches apart, "Like me."

[theperseus]

I stiffen at that.

"Like me."

And suddenly, I am angry, frustrated by all of this. Will false gods, gods born of evolution, inspire the people in that cavern of marble and vine?

I look away from them, from the temple, from Cassie.

"Not like me," I whisper.

[themarpessa]

I recoil as if his words had physically stung me.

It hurts, his words and sneering. But soon the flood of the pain they cause eventually slows to a trickle as the white numbness rolls over me, coming to my aid. It's hum sweeps over me like the breathing of an ocean, smoothing my anxiety out and removing my sharp edges. Blurring me out.

I feel swollen and ripe inside as I turn to look at that temple. It seems, in its voice of chants, steps, and murmurs, to call me inside to it's haven. Where I'd belong.

Several locals spot me--standing golden and bright in the tree's green-wash on the hillside. They look at me with wide eyes and cocked heads, and for the first time in weeks I feel as though I am being seen.

"If my fucking presence offends you that much, then fine. Go home. Don't do me any fucking favors. Come if you want to." I say doggedly as I begin to sprint down the hill.

"But something tells me, you'd be missing out." I yell over my shoulder.

[theperseus]

"It's not your presence," I mutter, watching her run.

Fuck this. Part of me wants to turn away and just leave her to whatever trouble she's likely to get into but...

But I find myself inexplicably following her down the hill.