i tried not to throw stones :: may

The day itself started out okay, with bright blue skies and some fluffy clouds that promised to bring rain later on, weather permitting. Archer liked rain, it was his favorite element. It used to be fire until the day with the explosion, and ever since then the demigod has scorned it and would go anywhere near it. He wasn’t afraid of it, he just didn’t like it as much as he used to. Fire brought death and destruction upon him, taking away all he had ever known and loved. Rain brought life and rebirth, coldness and numbness which he was so used to nowadays. Archer walked along the dusty path with Landon, and they were going nowhere in particular. They traveled in a pair now, too hell bent on saving the other person from gods know what. Landon had dragged Archer out of bed, despite him not wanting to go. Apparently it wasn’t healthy to stay inside all day moping about.

So here they were, walking in silence. There wasn’t really anything to say, as Archer’s social growth had gone down and he hadn’t had as many experiences as Landon had, which was understandable, seeing as he was missing a very important aspect of normal society: his hearing. Hearing had offered Landon the world, and Archer wanted his brother to go out and have fun without him. But today was clearly twin day. As they walked, some kids came up, big and buff and tough looking, with buzz cuts and strong jaws; obviously children of ares or some other mean god. Archer wasn’t sure if people knew about his disability or not, as both he and Landon kept it both hush hush. However, these kids were moving their mouths, pointing at their own ears and laughing at Archer. He knew they were laughing at him, he knew what was happening but he couldn’t stop it.

Before going deaf, Archer had never been subjected to bullying. Indeed he was one of the most popular kids at school, being able to do almost anything he set his mind to. He even got a hard solo in music class, and all the girls wanted to go out with him. It wasn’t hard to say that nearly everyone loved him, and the ones who didn’t kept their mouths shut. Archer had a big enough support that if anyone dared harm a hair on his head there would be ten people at least ready to beat the offender. Besides, the demigod was nice to everything, so he didn’t really have any enemies anyways. So to be bullied now was odd to him, although it didn’t matter. Even if he could hear, Archer wouldn’t have cared. Most of the boys here had worse pasts than he did, and they had problems that ran deep in their minds, so he brushed off whatever they said. When Landon suggested they leave, Archer shook his head. He liked the rain, he liked the smell and the feeling of drops on his skin, it was very soothing to him, so maybe going out with his brother wasn’t all bad. ‘No. You’re the one who wanted to come here.’ He signed to his twin, slightly frowning. The sky wasn’t completely grey yet, there might still be time to circle the forest once before heading back home. Archer kept on walking until the boys showed up, at which time he watched Landon very carefully. 

Landon, especially now that Archer’s hearing had almost completely gone, was extremely protective. It bothered him sometimes, because he didn’t need protection in the form of his baby brother. He wanted to scream at his brother to hold back, to deal with the bullies himself, but there wasn’t any way to do it. ‘Landon, stop!’ Archer signed frantically, trying to get his twin to stop from doing something reckless and stupid. ‘Please, I can’t even hear what they’re saying, it doesn’t matter!’ He grabbed hold of his brother’s shoulder, meaning to yank him back. But it was no use, as he’d already started screaming, and Archer could tell from the words on his lips that he was taunting them. Actually, the deaf boy could vaguely tell what the Ares children were saying, as he’d gotten better with lip reading. “Dirty half breed!” They screamed at him. They probably were referring to his lineage. “You’re just a deaf asshole with no friends!” The demigod tried not to flinch at that remark. While Landon continued to draw attention to himself, Archer stood helplessly, hearing his own heartbeat thump loudly in his chest. Ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum. 

Then his twin started to run away from him, into the forests with the five boys chasing after him. Archer clutched his hair in exasperation. He really didn’t need this today. He had hoped that it would just be a peaceful walk in the woods with his brother, but apparently the gods wanted to torment him even more. “Landon!” Archer screamed, though how loud and how furious and worried he sounded he wasn’t sure. He chased after his brother. He didn’t need protecting all the time. Whatever the boys said — he could handle with grace and ease and pretend that it didn’t bother him. Landon didn’t need to get himself beat up over Archer, because then the guilt that he would feel would be so great he’d slump back in dull depression. While searching the trees for his twin, Archer ran into one of the surviving bullies and fell onto the dirty ground. The boy sneered at the demigod, pulling back his fist. Archer scrambled backwards, hitting a tree and splintering up his hands. He brought his arms up to his face, waiting for the pain to erupt on his body.