Come Away To The Water (p)

The legacy sat on the ground by the Little Tiber with his feet flat on the ground and his knees up so his arms could rest on them. It was usually typical of him to make his way over to either the Little Tiber or the lake out in New Rome just before lights went out for the cohort. Sure, he knew he could get into trouble for being out passed curfew, but any centurion that caught him out here knew he'd return back to his barracks when he was finished his smoke. He hadn't exactly been proud that he had delved into the world of poison in a stick, but when he had started he was a bit too naive at that point and had given into peer pressure. In some way being out here with the water made him feel closer to his father knowing that at one point he too would have likely sat out by the river.

Holding the light stick between his pointer finger and his middle finger of his right hand, he brought it up to his lips and took a long drag from it while his mouth and lungs filled with the smoke. There was almost the tiniest bit of burning sensation that made him feel more alive and relieved at times. With his thumb and pointer finger he pulled the cigarette out of his mouth as his elbow rested on his knee and he flicked the ashes on the ground. The rushing water was calm at this time of night and it soothed his soul in a way that nothing else could. That and the night smoke was often what relieved him of the stress that weighed on his shoulders daily and by now it was just a routine and habit, but it helped him sleep at night to be as productive as he could be.

When he heard footsteps he didn't even give a look. He didn't know who it was, but assumed it was a centurion telling him to get back, despite knowing that he wouldn't, it was just the way their system worked. "I'll be heading back in a couple minutes, skip the speech." Cliff said as he brought the cigarette back up to his lips again.

Christian knew where to find Cliff at night; he wasn't anywhere near as good as Christian when it came to hiding an addiction. It wasn't necessarily that he wanted to find Cliff, but more that Christian didn't want to be in the barracks at the moment. Not with Lauren sleeping only bunks away, and with Aspen quite possibly only two buildings away. It wasn't enough to put a few hundreds yards between them, but at least it was something. Christian's conflicted emotions turned to cold anger when Cliff spoke to him, thinking he could be a Centurion for a different Cohort. His expression darkened as he walked next to the legacy.

"Corinne and I work relentlessly to change the way this Cohort is looked at." Christian told him. "Back when she was Centurion the first time things were different for us. You know how things are for the kids that join us these days, everyone looks down on them like they're just bottom-of-the-barrel." Christian lectured. "Most of us work to make that difference for those kids, so that their new world isn't being judged and treated like they're worthless." Christian made it blatantly clear where he stood.

"Don't be out here mouthing off Centurions because you want to break the rules. Save that for retirement, when your actions don't represent all of us." Christian finished in a bitter tone, before sighing and looking out at the Little Tiber. "You got another of those?" The legacy asked, fully expecting some push-back. The two were usually good at pal-ing around.

Cliff took a drag of the cigarette as her heard the familiar lecture voice of Christian Moreau. He was his centurion and therefore the guy who gave him orders on what to do, and probably the only centurion besides Corinne he'd take orders from. Cliff wasn't a huge fan of the other centurions. Liam Davenport didn't appear to have many emotions and partied all the time, but not nearly as much as Laurel Zimmerman. Laurel was the one person he was shocked was even a centurion, not even Davis Turner being centurion shocked him as much as Laurel did. speaking of Davis the kid was so shy and timid that there was shock as to why, but cohort two probably just stuck someone in place because the former centurion before him, Rowan Davenport tried to stab a senator. Secretly Cliff was the most impressed by the former centurion, because it took balls to try to stab a senator in broad daylight, but it was also a stupid move on her part.

Then there was Sophia Virgo, the centurion that likely got her spot due to the fact her mother had it before her and in general due to her age was probably the brattiest of them all. Not that Cliff ever really had a conversation with her. Then there was the third cohort, he knew nothing about Jacky Smyth other than his name, and Aspen Virgo was just another entitled girl that got her slot because of her family, and he was convinced she just went on missions and pretended to get lost to avoid any actual work. Cassia Prescott was the pill popping centurion who was riddled with anxiety until she took the pills. Even then Cassia was too straight edged for the world and took everything in a more serious tone.

So who could really blame him for not being the most respectful to the other centurions? "Please, you know they're all a joke just as much as I do." She said exhaling the the smoke from his mouth holding the cigarette between his thumb and pointer finger again. "Besides that in a few years we're all going to be retired or dead and no one will even give a fuck about what I said to a centurion one or two times before, but hey, I get it. No more lip." Cliff said in a calm voice as he continued to watch the moving water.

Hearing his centurion wanted a smoke made him raise an eyebrow questioning him. It wasn't usual for Christian to ask for one, actually it was unheard of. Usually get got lectures about how they weren't good for you and you shouldn't be addicted to something at a young age and all of that. Despite wanting to fling a typical Christian Moreau lecture at him he decided to bite his tongue and just gestured for Christian to sit. He then started to grab the deck of smokes out of his pocket before he looked at him, "Need the stress reliever that bad?" He questioned before flicking the ashes on the ground.

"We're not looking to make a statement to the future, Cliff." Christian replied simply. "We're looking to be better people to give our friends, family, and children a better time tomorrow. I'm not sure if you and Melanie are in this for the long haul, but if you are and plan to have kids? What we do today, remembered or not? That could be the difference between their demise and their fruitful life. I hope you can understand that." Christian snagged the cigarette from the pack Cliff held out, before giving a thankful nod.

"Well, it's an overall crappy situation." Christian explained. "I've known Lauren as long as I can remember, literally, since before I was 1 year old. There's not one moment in my life that I can remember where Lauren wasn't there." Christian told him. It wasn't entirely true; there was a small window of a couple months, but it was when he was eight years old. He remembered how badly he missed Lauren; missed her more than he missed his mom and dad. Then, as if all the luck in the world was his, she showed up a few months later.

"Aspen suddenly shows up, and now I have the hardest choice I've ever had to make." Christian told him, before reaching his cigarette, asking for light. "It's so screwed up, man, I shouldn't even have the power in my hands to make a choice. As if they're two different ice cream flavors; they're both human beings who deserve way more respect that this."

Cliff didn't do anything but listen to everything that Christian had to say and didn't put any word in at all. He just let the words sink in and consume his brain as he gave time to ponder it. It was normal for Christian to through the whole 'I hope you can understand that' line in his famous lectures, that at this point he wasn't sure it phased him as much as it used to, but it still made him think about everything he had said. It wasn't that Cliff didn't get Christian's point about it, it was more so his apathy towards what the other demigod cared about. Cliff and Christian was friends, but they definitely had their differences.

As he gestured for a light he pulled out the square, metal lighter from his pocket and flicked the top open running his finger down the small little wheel that made a 'tsssh' kind of noise as the flame sparked up. He moved the flame over to the centurion's cigarette to ignite it before he let go of the wheel and closed the lid. Before he'd respond he'd put the cigarette up to his lips again and take a drag, almost as if all the smoke had whirled around in his mouth to clear it all out so he could think and then reply. He exhaled the smoke and continued stare at the water.

"Some of the hardest choices in life give the best results." Cliff started almost as if he were gaining momentum to something more, "Well, by the sounds of it, you can't imagine a life without Lauren, do those same feelings apply to Aspen? If you remember how you felt when Lauren wasn't there, did you feel similar when Aspen was gone for a year?"