My World of 1x1s discussion

Name: Straton Plutarch Thantos Voclain
Straton= army; Plutarch= riches, origin, source; Thanatos= death; Voclain= wealthy one
Age: 20
Appearance:

Personality: short-tempered; aloof; arrogant; observant; curious
History: His father, Hades, had an affair with a mortal woman named Zoe Voclain and when it was discovered she was pregnant, she was taken to the Underworld where the child would be raised. Straton has grown up among the dead and had Cerberus as his closest friend. His mother died sometime when he was six, finally unable to bear the darkness and death surrounding her. He hasn't visited the mortal world often and he basically does everything to his own whim in the Underworld without supervision since his father is dealing with the dead.
Powers:ince Straton is a demigod, he possesses some godly abilities that he inherited from his father. He can raise the dead, though the max he could do is fifteen and that tires him out so much that he could fall unconscious. He also has an ability to control fire, which he tends to flippantly use in a mischievous manner, though when he's really emotional (particularly when angry) it can get out of control.

Name: Penelope Gabriella St-Waters
Age: 17
Appearance:

Personality: intelligent; shy; reserved; romantic; open-minded
History: Penelope is just a girl who's seen too many movies, raised in a family where magic was not myth, but reality. Recently, her high school sweetheart passed away from leukemia. Devastated, she has been trying for six months to find a ritual to bring him back from the dead, but what she stumbled upon has brought her into the Underworld instead.
Powers: Necromancy

There had been no time for Penelope to think before the ritual failed. One moment she was casting her spell, and the next, she was falling... falling, falling. She could not remember if she had screamed, but she remembered the terror that had overwhelmed her as panic rose in her bile. She had failed, and now she would die.

Death did not scare her as much as the thought of losing her life did--if that made any sense. As a necromancer, Penelope had been taught that death was not to be feared; the dead and death could be used and controlled.

She must have closed her eyes at some point, because when she opened them again, Penelope found herself in a place that was not home, but that she recognized. She had never been here before, but she knew where she was: she was in the Underworld.

For the sake of entertaining himself before the evening meal, Straton decided to wander from Hades' palace towards the dark forest surrounding it. He barely acknowledged Cerberus who stood at the gates as he left, though the giant beast gave a huff in disappointment as he watched Straton's retreating back. The forest consisted of silvery trees, ghostly in the strange light that illuminated the world, though there wasn't a sun to be seen. Elysium was further beyond the forest, a distant golden glow on the horizon if Straton looked out from one of the towers. Clothed in a dark jacket, his bright blue hair was the only color that stood out, the leaves a dull rusty color that was closer to brown than red. He kept on walking, aimlessly weaving around one tree then another.

So awestruck was she that for several long minutes, Penelope did nothing but remain where she lay staring around her in wonder, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. She was not afraid—was she dead? Maybe—for she had been taught her entire life that death was just another extension of life. The idea of passing away at such a young age also did not phase her. Perhaps she’d be able to find Caleb and they could live happily ever after in the Underworld.

It was a surprisingly beautiful place with colors in schemes she did not know could exist in nature. She had only ever “seen” the Underworld through visions and they were always in greyscale, though perhaps it was simply how her mind envisioned the place. It was only once Penelope realized she might have been wasting time that she rose to her feet and began to walk around. She had no idea where she was going, but simply remaining where she was wouldn’t help her achieve her goal any sooner.

I’m coming, Caleb! she promised her sweetheart.

Penelope's outfit:

Occasionally the leaves would rattle in what might be wind, though there was always a moaning sound that came with it and a slight chill like a soul was passing through the air. Straton came upon a narrow path, almost invisible compared to the surrounding trees if one didn't have a trained eye. But he has had plenty of time to wander this forest and so automatically his feet turned along the path, heading towards the center. In the center was a dark pool and usually one could see glimpses of the mortal world above. At times when he was bored or frustrated, Straton often visited the place, thinking that perhaps he should try for once to step inside and see where it would take him.

There were moments when she felt like she wasn't alone, and Penelope assumed it was the dead who followed her. She tried to follow a path as much as she could, but after awhile, she realized that she had walked off whatever track she might have been on, and that she was lost. When she stumbled upon a dark, still pool of water, Penelope paused. What was this? Was it some kind of well where she could communicate with someone perhaps?

Dropping to her knees to peer over the edge, she tucked her dark hair behind her ear and peered down at her reflection.

A couple feet from where the trees thinned out, Straton stopped in his tracks, frowning. He thought he saw something or someone. Taking a couple more steps, he emerged from the shadows, his eyes registering the person kneeling over the pool. He didn't recognize her and she definitely wasn't dead. He would have been able to tell. A nymph perhaps? Tilting his head, he folded his arms across his chest. "Admiring yourself like Narcissus?"

The voice that called out startled her and Penelope gasped, shrinking back from the edge of the water to locate the source that had spoken to her. Her eyes alighted on a young man perhaps her age with bright blue hair and paint on his face. She didn't reply for a second or two as she gauged him, and unsure of what to do but answer, she said to the spirit, "No, I... I thought it might have been a portal. I'm looking for someone," she ventured when he said nothing, still kneeling on the grass as she then decided to rise to her feet in case... well, in case of anything really. She had no idea how to go about navigating through the Underworld.

His eyebrows dropped into a frown of puzzlement and his arms dropped to his side as he took a couple steps towards the girl. She didn't seem like a nymph. Usually they were almost irresistible to look and a lot more flirty, though he could truthfully say he hadn't encountered them much. They didn't want to mess around with Hades' son. "And you're looking for someone in the mortal world?" Straton asked, his mouth twisting into a smirk of amusement.

"No," Penelope replied, trying to decipher who exactly she was speaking to. He seemed confident, and he certainly understood the realm they were in better than she. Was he a spirit? Another necromancer? One that perhaps had actively traveled to the Underworld, unlike herself who had stumbled into it with a misunderstood ritual. "I'm looking for the spirit of a dead person," she told him candidly. What was the point in dancing around the subject? Why had he asked her that though? Was this lake actually a gateway back to earth. "I take it I won't find that here," she fanned out her arms to indicate the specific location where she stood.

He gave a laugh and shook his head, though inwardly a glow of suspicion entered his mind. Either this nymph was newly born or possibly this was a human. Despite the years he had lived in the Underworld, Straton had yet to meet a necromancer in person and though it wasn't unheard of, it was rare to see them. Deciding to hold back his doubts for now, he nodded with his chin towards Elysium. "If the dead person died honorably, they'd be other there. The rest are on the opposite side of the palace."

She didn't understand what was so funny, but the more she spoke to him, the more Penelope realized he was not someone to be taken lightly. He had an air about him that suggested he knew far more than she did, which was probably true--especially about the Underworld. "He passed away from leukemia," she elaborated, unsure if that was considered honorable or not; the disease certainly hadn't been. "May I... go there?" she asked him, feeling like she needed permission. She certainly didn't think she was allowed in the palace, as curious as she was to see it.

None of the dead walked the forest, being too close to the Lord of the Dead for comfort, which was one of the reasons why Straton preferred the forest. Even at the palace the servants were dead. Elysium was a different matter and Straton considered her answer thoughtfully. "Leukemia? Seems really common recently. What about his deeds? Did he have honor then?" It would be a nice excuse to visit the golden fields, Straton thought.

"Well, he... he didn't live for very long," Penelope replied, biting down on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. The memory of his passing, and the thought that she might actually see him again--here, in this realm--was causing her to become emotional, and she didn't want to lose her composure in front of a stranger she knew nothing about. "But he was a good person while he was alive," she told him honestly.

Clasping her hands in front of her, Penelope glanced shyly at the blue haired man, wanting to know who--or what--he was, but feeling it impolite to ask.

"Not many do according to my father," he said casually, giving a small shrug. Giving a small nod, deciding that he might as well see where this might lead, Straton started walking towards the opposite end of the clearing, passing her as he did so. "Well, no harm in checking Elysium then. It's over this way." Pausing to wave her to follow after, he dug his hands into his pockets and let his feet find the path again.

Who is your father? almost escaped Penelope's lips in a question, but something about the way that he casually mentioned him told her that he must have been important. Was it...? Could it be...?

Silently she followed him, not sure what to say, and feeling very out of place despite her connection with the dead. This boy was helping her; she couldn't have asked for more.

((OMG that was so short, I'm so sorry))

((It's fine. :D))

A silence drew on between them as they walked, making Straton feel a touch irritated. Finally something different has happened to him in the Underworld, especially since it's been a while and all he really has been doing is mosey along with this girl. Perhaps it might be better to stray off the path a bit. Get to some other dark corners with spirits first? Glancing back at her as he thought this, Straton absently asked, "So this person is that important to you that you had to go to the land of the dead to get him?"