Milo knew full well there was more behind the words that his winged friend was giving him. It was the face--the mask--that he would show others. There was something more behind his words, something dangerous. But he wasn't showing the world what he was planning. No, he never would. That was how it all seemed to be.

He couldn't have normal friends. No, he had... Lucius. The winged demigod who had pretty much no real parental guidance when growing up--and it showed now--in the way he did whatever he wanted. Unluckily for Milo, it wasn't the usual 'whatever he wanted' that other college aged kids did. Drinking, partying, the likes. Lucius never found enjoyment in that side of the world. He found enjoyment in showing others what they could have. It didn't have to be drastic or dramatic, it didn't have to be earth shaking or world shattering. Sometimes, it was as simple as realizing that you were more than you thought.

And sometimes it was much, much larger.

Milo had a deep rooted suspicion that this was one of those 'much larger' ideas and not just a subtle hide-the-wings idea. That was just a piece of the puzzle. But the more he pestered, the more Lucius would hide it.

Milo shook his head, deciding to see if he couldn't figure out why Lucius had gotten so riled up.

"Why do you care if he understands or not--Feo--y'know?" Milo prompted slowly and quietly, watching Lucius pause in his skimming over the spells in the book. His brown eyes met with the sapphire gaze of Lucius as he looked up as well.

Why did he care so much?

"Because a demigod with so much potential to change the world deserves to do it on their own volition and choice, not because of their fool hardy parent."

"Okay, and? What about all of the demigods of Zeus and Poseidon? How many of them have done the same thing?" Milo tried to dig deeper into the background.

"They do it because they want to be seen," Lucius responded lightly, "they have a choice. They don't have to care, they don't have to be seen over all hundreds of their siblings. But that demigod doesn't. He believes that he doesn't get a choice because that's what his idiot parent has told him," Lucius insisted, "he's so far up in the mists of manipulation that he can't see or breath the fresh air of reality."

"Lucius," Milo's tone wavered slightly, "what are you planning on doing about it?"

"I'm going to show him that I'm right. That he isn't a puppet on a string, that he's more than just a pawn and that his father can shove his head in the sand and take a deep breath--"

Milo pursed his lips for a moment, his mouth opening and then closing again. "Lucius...?"

"What?"

"Are you sure?"

Lucius lifted his sapphire eyes. "About what, Milo?"

"Your plan. I know it's more than just hiding wings," he replied quietly. "Are you sure the rest of it is a good idea?"

"It's fool proof."

"Oh good grief."

Milo shook his head a couple of times before letting out a small breath. This was going to be a really stupid plan and he was fully prepared for that. What sort of plan, he wasn't sure. Was it just throwing hands? Or was it something more?

"Maybe you should talk with Feo," Milo said quietly. "Get... get him on it?"

Lucius let out a dry laugh and stood up, setting the books back in place--barring one. He needed to check it out and find a willing Egyptian spell-caster. "Are you kidding? There's no way he'd actually go for it. There's no way he'd actually listen to me," he prompted as well before letting out a short noise, almost a weary breath. "Nobody really does, they just pretend to. They all laugh along, say it's a good idea or whatever but they never actually care or they never meant to do anything about it. It's always words and never action."

Milo trailed after him, walking through the shelves of books toward the front desk. The woman checked the book out and Lucius walked toward the front door with the book in his arm. "But what if he does?"

"He won't," Lucius replied loosely. "Besides, right now, I need to find a willing spell-caster to help me."

Milo let out a loose groan. He hadn't ever thought he would be that guy but there he was, saying the exact phrase; "I might know a guy."

Granted, that "guy" was Flynn. Flynn Evans. Flynn was a supposed "son" of the Egyptian god, Ptah. Son was a loose term. He was a creation of the god that had lasted the longest out of all of them. The blond brainless hunk of flesh was at least kind. He had more heart than brain at the very least. He was one of the few light-aligned demigods that nobody really made fun of, or attacked--or anything. He helped everybody and... unfortunately, he was painfully ... on the less-than-smart side when it came to a lot of things.

Which was exactly why he would be the person to help Lucius out.

"Really?" Lucius paused and glanced back at him. "Who?"

"... his name is Flynn," Milo began wearily, guiding him toward the third year dorms. "He does a lot of Egyptian spell-work and whatnot, he's in college to be an architect but he's got no enemies. You can't piss him off, no matter how hard you try, he looks like a typical Californian beach boy and has enough power to do what you're looking for."

Lucius tilted his head a couple times before shrugging. It couldn't hurt right?

"Weird."

"Please, never mention it," Milo said flatly. "He's... there are marbles sharper than him. I try to avoid him for that reason."

Milo slipped into the dorm, reluctantly reaching to find his roommate. Flynn... Flynn Evans wasn't mean, he wasn't terribly dumb either but he lacked... common sense, sometimes. He looked like the typical beach boy, the surfer from California. He was a looker, that was for sure. But he lacked any sense of flirting. Cues and that sort of thing went right over his head, which was unfortunate. But it was what it was.

"I need your help," Milo explained as Flynn looked up when he burst into the dorm room. "Just... hear me out--"

"Nah, you're good, dude," Flynn stood up from the wooden chair. "If you need help then it must be important. Come on, you can explain on the way."

Milo reluctantly sighed and bobbed his head, talking to the future architect. He wasn't convinced that this wasn't a bad idea. But Flynn pointed out that it could be worse, he could either go along with him or he could watch from a distance and live with the regret of wishing he had done something.

"I'm just worried he's going to get hurt," Milo mumbled quietly, pausing just before they went out the doors. His brown eyes flicked toward the glass and then down to the floor. "I don't want him to get hurt. It doesn't seem fair."

"Life isn't fair," Flynn let out a warm chuckle, clapped his shoulder and lead him outside. "That's exactly what makes it life. If it were fair? What would we really do? We wouldn't be here that's for sure. Life is full of problems and imbalance, it's up to us to either right the balance or tip it further."

Milo looked back at him, having to look up at the man. "... that's like the smartest thing that's come out of your mouth since you've been here."

"Heard it once from Dad," Flynn responded, his eyes turning to the sky. "God of creation and whatnot, he's got a few ideas and solid advice. Anyways, your friend?"

"Right, right," Milo turned around on his feet, his gaze sweeping the smaller courtyard in front of the dorms. "There, Lucius!"

"Lucius? He's that kid that--"

"Yeah, yeah, don't talk about it," Milo cut him off with a wave of his hand. Whatever smarts he had shown had clearly left.

Lucius lifted his head and walked toward them, the book in his arm as he stepped toward the other two men. "Flynn?"

"The very same. You must be Lucius," Flynn extended his hand, taking Lucius's in his own. He gave it a firm shake before stepping back. "What can I help you with?"

"This watch," Lucius held it out to him. "Can you enchant it to hide my wings?"

"Oh--uh--well--"

"I found this spell," Lucius opened the book, flipped to the page and turned it around to show the man. "Will it work?"

"... you really did your research actually," Flynn seemed rather surprised before looking over the words, squinting lightly. Milo rolled his eyes and fished in his pockets, holding the spectacles out to Flynn.

"Thanks," he set them on the bridge of his nose. "... yeah, that should work."

"What do I owe you?"

"Dude, I dunno. A candy bar?"

"Bet--"

Lucius was up in the air in mere seconds, leaving him with a feather for the spell.

It was mere minutes later that Lucius placed the watch on his wrist and watched with a vibrant fascination as the fluffy creamy white wings vanished from sight. He could still feel them but they were weightless--more or less. He laid back on the grass and he felt nothing but grass behind him. "Holy catfish," he whispered. "This is fantastic."

Milo flashed him a weary smile. "Go get some dinner. The cafeteria should still be open."

"What about you?"

"I still have some unpacking to do," Milo commented lightly walking back to the dorm with Flynn in tow.

Lucius looked up at the sky, scanning the dusky clouds with his sapphire eyes. The sun had set, leaving the edges of light on the tips of the clouds. The stars held behind them in a velvet cushion.

He finally stood up, a touch unbalanced without the weight of the winds before he started forward, heading toward the distant cafeteria. For a moment, though, he spotted a flash of blue hair. Lilian--and farther ahead, Feo.

His eyes narrowed briefly before he paused. Was it a really stupid idea--yes. Yes it was. Even he knew that. And as far as he was concerned, that wasn't his problem. They could go and do whatever.

He... needed food apparently.

Lucius watched them shuffle off with a guarded expression. He didn't care. Right? He didn't. Well, maybe part of him did. But the majority of him didn't. It was clear to him that Feo couldn't do anything without Lilian behind him. Well, Lucius wasn't like that. He did things anyways, whether or not there was someone behind him helping him along the way or not. If he had to do it all by himself, he would. And he wouldn't care. He couldn't afford to care at all. That wasn't who he was.

Lucius stepped forward but somehow, he found himself without much of an appetite. He wanted to get moving, get going, instead of just staying there without doing anything. He had a plan, he wanted to get started on it. The longer he waited, the longer out that end goal would end up being.

He pulled the watch from his wrist and stuffed it in his pocket as the creamy white wings unfurled from his back. The silver moonlight caught on the white feathers as they reached up to soak in the moonlight. His head tipped back toward the sky, opening his eyes to look up toward the stars above him. The way they shone like crushed glass out from the inky depths of a velvet cushion. Like diamonds from a felt carpet that stretched out over the sky.

If he flew high enough, maybe, just maybe, he could reach out and touch some of them. The way they called down to the ground below achingly.

But he knew that was just as foolish as Icarus. Fly too close to sun, a watery grave. There was no reaching the stars, an endless goal.

But the ripple of the feeling stirred him and touched his feelings and feathers. There was something in the air that caught his attention, something... had changed. It was the rush of an unseen wind--something unfelt by those who weren't in tune with it. The rush of change, the breathless sigh of something letting go of what once was. But it held a tinge of relief. It was only a tinge, it wasn't full of joy or relief. Oh, no. No, this wind of change came with a rush of fury.

Something had changed, shifted to the side, and whoever it was... wasn't happy about it. Whatever had changed had pissed them off.

Lucius couldn't help it when his sapphire eyes turned in the dark of the night toward the direction where he had seen Lilian and Feo head off to.

He wasn't sure where they had gone but... a part of him was now curious and nosy. If not cautious. His wings spread out, swept down and took him upward into the starry sky. His eyes narrowed, struggling to peer through the darkness to find the blue hair--Lilian would be easier to spot than Feo would. But he couldn't see them in the garden below or really anywhere on campus. So what had happened?

The force of change was powerful, it rang with fury and power. It couldn't have been a demigod, they wouldn't have that type of power to swirl the air.

It was subtle movement from one window that initially caught his attention at first. His arms were tucked against his chest, watching the ground below him. For the most part, it was soundless, motionless--a sleepy world tucked in the dark of the night. But that was the moment that the motion caught his attention because it moved. It moved quickly. There was a flurry to the way whatever they were moved. Lucius angled his wings, trailing after the thing. He could keep track of it in the hallways, the way people moved out of the way of whatever it was and then it burst from the door. With silent beats, Lucius trailed after the wolf. At least he figured it was a wolf. That's what it looked like. But there was a flash of gold around the neck of the beast.

It told him most of what he needed to know. Through the empty streets, over the grounds of the flight class and into the beauty of the silent garden and that was when beast turned back to man.

The figure curled inward on themselves. Lucius recognized that motion, the tears that fell, shoulders shaking as everything came crashing down. As suddenly your world wasn't yours anymore.

He circled for a few moments before slowly gliding downward, following a larger circle each time he drew around. The wind that ruffled around his feathers as he finally settled on the ground with a quiet rush of feathers.

Lucius was mostly silent, watching from behind him. It was, in all reality, Feo. He had curled inward, tucking around himself as if he had taken a few hits. But he didn't seem injured at all.

Something had happened. The rush of change radiated from this demigod--which was partially why he had trailed him for so long. But it was the icy cold fear that held the winged demigod back from coming close. Whatever had happened had drawn the fury out from the god and a paralyzing fear from this young man instead.

So he stayed there, behind him. His wings weren't even folded, they remained outward, as if a shield of sorts.

Lucius debated on speaking, a couple of times. But what could he really say?

Did he ask what had happened? Did he offer to let Feo join him in his journey? Or was silence a better option?

Lucius shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he looked up toward the stars and then down to Feo once again.

The words drew to his tongue and he let them fall to shatter the fragile silence.

"The gods are worth nothing," Lucius drew his edged sword from his words, laying it out for Feo to take, or see, at the least. "They care nothing for the lives that they ruin or bring to this fragile existence. You know that now as well as I do..."

He paused for a moment before his expression softened. "You're not worthless. You are more than they will ever know," Lucius extended his hand out to the demigod in front of him, "help me show them the truth. That we are more than what they think and that we deserve their respect. Come with me... and I will help you see who you truly are. You are more than his pawn. You, Asrifeon, are more than a name. More than a face--you are a person. You are someone and you know the best part?"

Lucius felt a flash of fire in his chest.

"You get to choose your destiny. You get to have a choice. Let me help you," his tone dropped to a breathless whisper, "I promise I will."

Or he'd die trying.