haunted//healing

Kiran Gaj Ambani | son of Hades | 21 || Death twitches my ear. 'Live,' he says, 'I am coming.'

[kiranambani]

pynkmin·:

“He chose you! That’s so darn adorable!” Min grinned, and they genuinely meant it. “If an animal chooses you that’s like, a blessing from the sky, or well, the Underworld in his case.” They looked over at the pair as they worked through stirring the contents of the bowl–Zeke glaring at Kiran like he scarred his honor and Kiran flipping him off in retaliation. Cute dorks. ”You’re just like a family,” they muttered softly, their grin fading a little and turning into a sad smile. “It’s really nice to have someone by your side that you could trust when it feels you’ve got no one in this world.”

Their eyes widened as they realized what they were doing and immediately pushed back the lump forming in their throat, cover it up with a cheerful smile. “Anyways, I just gotta fill up the cups and it’ll be ready to bake. Do you mind counting me in in your second round of tea? I hope that won’t trouble you!”

“blessing huh?” kiran chuckled, “that’s not what i thought at first.” he’d never really been a cat person. and ghosts had been just an inconvenience. zeke had been an even bigger inconvenience, since he didn’t seem to want to leave kiran alone. being shadowed by an actual shadow cat wasn’t fun, especially when your mental state isn’t the best.

kiran noticed min’s change of demeanor, though subtle. but she seemed to push it aside, and kiran had never been one to pry so he let it go. “second round of tea coming up.” he stated, getting up to turn on the kettle and grab a second mug for min. there was a short silence. he wasn’t very good at making conversation, not for extended periods of time anyways. he finally settled on the most basic question. “so.. do you have any pets?”

[kiranambani]

wyn-of-psyche·:

    Insomnia wasn’t the best look on Wyn, but not necessarily a new one either. Staying up late was a forte of his, but only when it was his choice and not forced by other reasons—worse when you can’t define those reasoning either. Today was one of those draining days, his empathetic powers matched with rogue thoughts whispering at him whenever he’d catch a camper’s glance, proved to be too much for him. It’s one thing to want to feel and help others, it’s another to unconscious do so without anyone’s permission. The day dragged, his chores took longer, and though at 3am he wakes up from his poor slumber the only thing that made sense for him to do now was to snack.

   So pajama pants laced up and his hoodie hiding most of his face, he took the best path he could from his cabin all the way to the dinning pavilion kitchens. Dodgy moments here and there, but luckily the Harpies seemed more focus on the beaches and lakes, than anywhere but where he was…However when he was searching for the milk, he was shocked to find anyone here; let alone another camper. “Kiran?” almost rhetorical as he identified the shadowy figure, “Uh, yeah…you the same I’m guessing” a muffled laugh broke from his lips even if they two were suppose to be staying quiet.

kiran needed a moment to recall the guy’s name. he’d never been good at names, especially when he was still half asleep. “wyn right?” he said, “yeah. my lovely demon cat decided to sleep on my face.” he explained, pointing at zeke on his shoulder. he took a sip of his tea as a short silence fell between them. kiran wasn’t really a people person. anymore. keeping a conversation going wasn’t as easy.

“what are you looking for? i like to think i’ve become somewhat of a kitchen expert throughout the years.” he finally jokes, raising his eyebrows in question.

[kiranambani]

maekwn·:

when she had shadow traveled from her room to the kitchens, she didn’t expect to find her brother there, making her jump a little just as he did. mae sighed in relief when she realized it wasn’t one of the harpies instead. that would’ve been trouble some at 3 am. 

“yeah.” she nodded quietly and tiredly, walking over to the fridge to look for something to eat. mae was in grey sweatpants and a large white shirt, covered with paint streaks, making it obvious that she was painting all night instead of sleeping. “you too, i’m guessing?” she returned the question. 

kiran was surprised to see his sister turn up. he’d gone to the kitchens to make sure he wouldn’t wake mae up - and because they had more snacks - but by the looks of it she hadn’t been asleep at all. she was wearing what kiran could only describe as her painting outfit. kiran himself was actually in his pyjamas, which meant blacks sweatpants and a loose white shirt which he had thrown a dark red flannel over against the cold.

“yeah. zeke decided my face was to be his.. pillow. basically.” he explained, yawning and trying to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. “i couldn’t fall asleep after that so... here i am. you okay though?” he asked, giving her a side glance to try and check up on her. she’d seemed a bit down lately, but he wasn’t sure if he wasn’t just reading things wrong.

[kiranambani]

celinaxlarose·:

“Yes, Kiran. Deadlines!” Celina’s eyes widened with urgency, her hands clinging to her sketchbook. She couldn’t decide whether she wanted to go as Jessica Rabbit or Poison Ivy this year, but both options were mapped out with extreme detail. She took the matter so seriously that when he admitted to not having something ready, she looked shocked. 

“I was actually asking why you were up, but this information is way more attention-grabbing. You don’t have anything planned? It’s only twelve days away!” she exclaimed with a sigh. “I’m debating between Jessica Rabbit and Poison Ivy. I like to be accurate but I hate wigs,” she shrugged. 

celina looked pretty shocked at his so called confession, and he would’ve expected nothing else. kiran really just couldn’t be assed to even think about a costume. it wasn’t like he was gonna go out on hallows eve anyways. “nothing planned, yup. nothing at all. it’s kinda freeing, you should try it.” he joked. obviously it wasn’t advice she’d take.

he considers her two options for a moment. “jessica rabbit, i think?” he finally says, slowly and hesitantly. “wait do you have any designs i’m allowed to look at.” he tries to glance inside her sketchbook. “i need to see what this would actually look like before i can give an opinion.”

[kiranambani]

aurvlic·:

auralie thinks the smile is meant to put her at ease, but rather she tenses arms wrapping around herself. it’s the same sort of smile kids would give her in school when she tagged along with her sister; the friendly expression that tries a tad too hard, tense lines behind the smile. the blonde glosses over it, attention returning to the phantom on his shoulder. briefly she imagines passing her hand through it but instead she turns her attention to the brunette muttering about tea.

auralie takes a cautionary step forward to try peer at the selection of tea. “ …that’s a lot of tea ,” her nose wrinkles at the lavender tea. she barely liked it as a flower, how could someone stomach it as a tea?  “ i’ll have whatever you’re having if that’s okay ? “

kiran notices the girl’s uncomfortable reaction, and it only further confirms that this is a state of mind he identifies with all too well. this isn’t something fixed by a forced smile. so instead he focuses on the tea, muttering away.

“it is. lots of campers, lots of tea i guess.” he comments, keeping his voice lighthearted. kiran hums at her question, pulling out two bags of chamomile. “then chamomile it is.” he says, putting the kettle on and getting two huge mugs from a cupboard. he puts them down on the table, “d’you want any kind of snack with that?”

[kiranambani]

pynkmin·:

“That’s wonderful! Thank you!” Min clapped giddily, quite pleased by the positive response. They thought Kiran might reject their offer considering that they haven’t really spoken to each other before. Min was usually shy and struggled to approach people, and he didn’t seem like much of a people person either. But now that they get to have his company, baking felt more exciting. The happiness that came along with sharing your little bit of joy with others was something they really appreciated about cooking. It was also kinda cute how he brightened up at the mention of muffins.

They immediately got to work, gathering what they needed of eggs and flour and whatnot. “You might call Zeke a diva, but he sure is a fabulous one,” Min said as they placed the mixer back in the drawer in favor of a simple whisk. It was a miracle they managed to get away with this without attracting the harpies, so they were better off not testing how far their luck can go with the deafening noise of a mixer. “Even though I haven’t gotten to see him much before, I still heard a lot about Zeke from other campers. Certainly a lovable demon. That makes me wonder…if he’s from the Underwold, how did you both meet?”

kiran took a seat at the kitchen island, warming his hands on his teacup and watching min get to work. “oh he is definitely fabulous.” kiran laughs quietly, teasing his cat by poking his side. “but he knows it, and that’s where the problem lies.” kiran sighs, but not in an annoyed way. he loves his cat more than anything really. min’s question brings a fond smile to his face, as he is reminded of how their story began. 

“so basically.. he was just a spirit wandering the earth i guess? that’s what ghosts are. i don’t know ghost science. whatever.” he drags his fingers through his hair, trying to gather his thoughts. “so yeah, he’s a ghost. when i was in new york like... two years ago, i kept seeing this black cat around. but it’s new york, it’s not like i thought much of it. black cats all look the same if you don’t look very closely.” he shrugs. nowadays he’d be able to pick out ezekiel from any line up of black cats. 

“so i left new york, and as i was driving down the high way at dusk, like... almost dark, suddenly this black.. shape appears in the passenger seat. and like, i’m not scared of ghosts. they’re more annoying to me than scary. but when something just appears next to you, that shit is fucking creepy - yes i’m talking about you stop looking so offended.” he flips zeke off, rolling his eyes before continuing. “basically he chose me, i guess. i tried to leave him behind. he’s a ghost.. like what am i supposed to do. but he kept reappearing. so in the end i just accepted it. and i’m glad i did.”

[kiranambani]

pynkmin·:

“Floof of darkness holy shi–oh my God, that’s adorable!” Min grinned. This night was taking a much better turn than they’ve expected. Despite being quite eager to give Zeke the scratches he deserved, they still took it slow, letting the cat take his time to sniff their hand first. Hoping they could work some of that good ol’ Disney princess magic, Min crouched down to be on eye level with Zeke and reached behind his ear, scratching there very softly. “You’re such a good boy, aren’t you?” they cooed, absolutely forgetting they were being watched. “King of camp? Hell yeah you are! So soft…so fluffy…” Too overwhelmed by cuteness, Min accidentally slipped into Korean as they cooed over Zeke some more.

But eventually they recovered from their feline-induced high, and looked up at Kiran towering over them. Slowly standing up, Min felt their cheeks get warm with embarrassment. “Sorry, got distracted. He’s really cute, but you already know that…” They scratched behind their neck awkwardly. “He also reminds me of my own cat Dame. She’s old and fat, but still a very elegant and lovely lady. She’s keeping my mom company now, though, so I don’t get to see her much, and I miss her a lot.” They gave Zeke a final rub over his forehead, and moved over to the cupboards.

Now that they were ready to start working, Min realized they haven’t really had anything specific in mind to bake. They looked around the kitchen, lost in thought until the tea cup in Kiran’s hands caught their eyes. Many things could go nicely with tea…

“I hope you like marmalade muffins?” they said as they reached for a bowl. “I mean they certainly won’t be ready in time for your tea–these need at least 15 minutes to bake–but if you’re willing to wait I’d be more than happy to share!”

kiran watched as min cooed and scratched zeke behind his ears. zeke seemed to enjoy the attention, purring softly. min seemed to forget all about their surroundings, which was kind of adorable, but kiran was just keeping eye out for zeke’s more sassy attitude. it could jump out randomly, and the fact that he was a ghost did not affect the sting of his scratches. not when he was metaphorically plugged into kiran as an energy source.

“zeke is anything but a elegant and lovely lady.” kiran chuckled, shaking his head subtly. “if anything i’d describe him as a diva or a demon.” luckily zeke seemed to be in a good mood, letting min pet him a final time.

at the sound of marmalade muffins, all kiran’s attention was pulling away from his cat. “yes!” he said, suddenly more awake than he had before. there wasn’t much food that kiran didn’t like. but freshly baked goods.. well of course he loved those. “i guess i could wait. and make more tea. it’s not like i’ll get some sleep any time soon anyways.”

[kiranambani]

bomiis·:

“but i don’t really… prefer it. it looks bland.” she kept pouting, looking at the son of hades. “easy for you to say, black hair looks great on you.” bomi sighed, sitting nearby with slumped shoulders. “six months is too long. but i guess i can just shut up and go with it again i guess.” she shrugged. “you think goth bomi could be a thing, though? like that’s a whole aesthetic i don’t have.”

“no! i think it looks pretty badass. or edgy. or whatever the cool term for that is nowadays.” kiran protests, trying to make the nymph feel better. he grins at her compliment, a true, cocky former!kiran grin. “why thanks. i meant it though, you can rock the black hair. i can see a bit of a goth side to you. like...” he thought for a second, sure there was a more appropriate term he had heard his sister or her ginger friend throw around. “soft goth?”

[kiranambani]

aurvlic·:

another night, another nightmare.

auralie was no stranger to bad dreams, before, both her and amalie had experienced them together. she’d never had to talk about them because amalie had already knew. but now amalie wasnt beside her to tell her it was just a nightmare. no..amalie was the nightmare.

the daughter of persephone couldn’t escape the image of her sister in the monster’s grasp. she’d spend nights haunted by the image of her sister pale and limp, flowers blooming on what could only be her final resting place. so she often ended up roaming around camp much like a ghost. sometimes she was convinced that’s what she was, pale porcelain spirit left to wander aimlessly, because surely this was hell. she couldn’t think of any other reason behind being here without her twin.

auralie retreated further into her corner as the boy arrived, glazed eyes watching the form on his shoulder with a vague interest. her gaze flicked to him as he spoke and the blonde blinked slowly. “ sleep isn’t the problem. you? “ 

“sleep is very much the problem.” kiran responded, accentuating his words with a lopsided shrug. he’d never seen this girl around camp, at least not that he remembered. kiran was bad with names - he simply didn’t care enough - but good with faces. she looked... strikingly familiar. not her features, just the way she held herself. it was like looking in a mirror and seeing himself from two years ago. the progress he had made since then suddenly hit him like a punch to the stomach, but he swallowed his emotions down.

instead he tried a kind smile, not something he often made use of around strangers, but this was worth the exception. “you want some tea too? we have.. mint, earl grey, chamomile... lavender - that doesn’t sound tasty at all - sleepy tea - a fuck i should’ve used that one..” he half mumbled to himself, as he often did when he was still half asleep - while rifling through the different kinds of tea. “chamomile is very calming i guess. i don’t know what your reason for being awake at this ungodly hour is but.. could be a good option.”

[kiranambani]

celinaxlarose·:

Celina loved Halloween more than any other time of the year, it was the perfect day to pretend she was anyone other than herself. So of course she took her costume planning and creating very seriously, she even took the time to make it all herself so that every inch would be perfect. This year, she was still debating between two options, and with the deadline coming up, she was getting a little stressed. 

So instead of sleeping, she had snuck out to the kitchens for some coffee. She sat there drinking it, trying to be quiet so she wouldn’t be caught, looking over some sketches she had made of both costume options. She was deep in though, staring at possible fabric options, when she dropped a pencil. By the time she retrieved it, someone else had seen her. Thankfully, it was another camper. 

“Oh, there’s no time for sleep. Deadlines are coming, there’s too much to do,” she shook her head. “For Halloween I mean. Normally I would have had my costume almost done by now,” she sighed. “You?”

“deadlines?” kiran stood there, dumbfounded. of course campers had classes about myths and monsters, and some even tried to maintain a normal education. but if he was correct, this was not one of those campers. her explanation cleared a lot of it up, though he was still confused why someone would take the holiday so seriously. 

“are you asked me if my costume is done?” kiran questioned, going back to pouring his tea, “because the answer to that is nope. i don’t even have a costume.” he continued, picking up his cup and walking over to where celina was sitting. he took the seat across from her, hiding a yawn behind his hand. “what are you going as?”

[continuity-rupture]

[kiranambani]

pynkmin·:

Min had three safe havens in this camp aside from their room: the strawberry fields, the stables, and the kitchens. This time, however, they weren’t exactly visiting to recharge after an exhausting social interaction or to have some alone time. Tonight they were more fidgety than usual.

They stared at Kiran like a deer caught in headlights. “I guess you could say so,” Min said as they fidgeted with the buttons of their blouse. “You ever get suddenly filled up with nervous energy and you just have to bake something? I mean, I know the time’s pretty inconvenient but…” they nervously laughed, dragging a hand through their hair. “If I won’t be falling asleep any sooner then I might as well make myself something good to wake up to later in the morning.” And there was always something very soothing about the warmth of the oven, the aroma of freshly baked goods slowly spreading throughout the kitchen, and the fond memories of home that came with it.

Once the sudden panic from finding someone in the kitchen when there usually wasn’t at this time eventually faded, Min finally focused on the black cat resting on Kiran’s shoulder. It took them a lot of strength to physically restrain themself from running forwards and reaching out to scratch behind the fluffy baby’s ear. So they were left staring at him with big eyes and a dumb, although tired, grin. “Hello there!” they waved at the cat as if he was an actual child. “This is Zeke, right?”

kiran frowned for a few seconds, thinking min’s words over. he still wasn’t awake enough for things to completely... reach him within a timely manner. but eventually he shrugged. “not really.” he replied, he’d never been much of a baker. he loved food, but somehow he was terrible at making it himself. the best he could do was make some decent cereal.

“that seems like a solid theory.” kiran continued. he was content enough with whatever breakfast the nymphs would make each morning. they were good cooks, but he guessed making things yourself could be more satisfying.

at min’s sudden ‘hello there!’, it took a moment for kiran to realise she was talking to zeke, and not him. the confusion faded from his face, and he simply smiled softly. zeke was more popular at camp than he had ever been, it seemed. “yes. zeke. ezekiel. king of camp. flood of darkness. he has many titles. i usually just call him bitch, dumbass or asshole.” kiran explained, his grin growing wider. he grabbed the cat and put it on the kitchen island so that he could greet min. not that he did, the animal simply looked angry that kiran had put him down. “you can pet him. as long as i’m around he’s tangible for non-underworld demigods.”

[kiranambani]

with halloween approaching, it was almost one year since kiran had returned to camp. and also almost two since he’d first left it. it was a weird date. it also marked the fact that it had been six months since sebastian’s death date. halloween already was all about remembering the dead, and then with this added weight.. kiran used to love halloween - pulling pranks, drinking too much, partying with his friends at his side - but like many things, that had changed quite a bit.

it wasn’t all bad. kiran wouldn’t have had ezekiel if all this tragedy hadn’t happened. he wouldn’t trade his new, very unable to die, best friend for the world. except... well except when it was 3am and the ghost animal suddenly decided to materialize on his face. and now that kiran was awake, he wasn’t able to fall asleep again.

that was how he’d ended up where he was now, shadowtravelling into the kitchens to get some tea and a snack. he startled when he heard a noise behind him, assuming that his efforts to not be noticed by the harpies had been for nothing. but then he turned around it was just another camper. with a relieved sigh he scratched ezekiel - propped up on ki’s shoulder - behind his ears. “couldn’t sleep?” he simply asked the camper, going back to making his tea.

[kiranambani]

deldavies‌:

delaney let out a small laugh. “yeah, should look pretty badass, on the plus side.” she gave the wound a last look, holding it gingerly and looking for any signs of a necessity of urgent care before letting him take his arm back. “no, i’d definitely take it to the infirmary, just to be sure. if nothing else, you’ll have peace of mind. losing an arm to infection wouldn’t be a great story to tell, in my own opinion.” she took a step back, crossing her arms to keep warm. when she was moving she was comfortable, but the lack of activity reminded her how cold it was. her moment of zen had come and gone, and though she wanted to keep going, she felt an urge to make sure he got to the infirmary in one piece. “i was just about to head home.” a lie. “i can head over with you, if you’d like?”

“oh, yeah. i guess i’m alone too.” delaney muttered, clearly unable to deny it. avoiding eye contact, she considered making up some story about getting separated from a group but knew it wouldn’t hold up. “i go to the woods to train. i don’t do well in controlled situations, i never have.” she said, rambling at first before controlling the rhythm of her words. “when the stakes are high i really get my best work done. and with the threat of war….” she trailed off, taking as deep breath in. “i don’t want to be weak. i want to be able to give it all i have.” realising she had revealed absolutely too much to someone she hardly knew, she looked back up at him, raised her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side. “but i should be asking you that same question, seeing as you’re hurt and i’m doing just fine.”

kiran chuckled softly. she had a point, he knew that. he was just being stubborn. “i guess i’ll get it checked out. i’m pretty attached to my arm, pun intended.” he joked. the wound didn’t look that bad, in his opinion, but he didn’t want to risk it. “yeah sure. always safer to go into the forest with company. or.. leave it with company i guess.” he shrugged, starting to walk into the direction of camp. he knew it was hypocritical and delaney was probably perfectly able to take care of herself but he didn’t want her to be left alone.

“you’ve come to the right place for high stakes.” kiran commented quietly, more of a mumble really. he shot her a surprised glance mid-rant. “you don’t seem weak to me? we’re all demi’s aren’t we. if you’ve been here for a while you probably know how to handle a sword at least.” he told her, going on a bit of a rant himself. he pushed a tree branch aside as they walked, and made a brief annoyed face at her question. he was being a little childish about this whole thing, a little too kiran-pre-tragedy. but he wasn’t a liar so he gave her a genuine answer. “i’m fine! i don’t want to sound like i’m bragging but i’ve had worse.” he said. “i just like a bit of a challenge every now and then, just to keep me sharp. and apparently i wasn’t sharp enough so... just proves i’ve got more to learn.”

[kiranambani]

iscllde·:

“ friends who aren’t me? sounds fake,” isolde sniffs, swiping at kiran’s hand as he stole the food from her plate. “ rude, depriving me of entertainment for this afternoon and stealing my food? unbelievable.” of course, isolde wasn’t really offended, her wheedling for attention was just that – wheedling for attention. with summer ending and many campers having gone back to their lives, isolde found herself more and more bored. “ i can’t believe you’re passing up disney movies and quality me time, though, vic is amazing, so i suppose i can’t blame you for that,” she sighed. 

“pfft, you forget about solange, amiria and my bestest best friend, the one and only everett.” kiran said, adding the needed drama to his gestures and tone. she swiped at his hand but he was too quick, chewing his treasure with a triumphant smirk. “i don’t like to brag but i am great at multitasking.” kiran shrugged in the most not-casual casual way. isolde knew him well enough to know he was just being his dramatic self. well, this wasn’t really his usual mood but after all these years she had to be used to this version of him. “vic is amazing, yeah. but we can still watch disney movies or whatever. what about a movie night? snacks, comfy clothes, bunch of blankets.. the works basically.” truthfully, kiran wasn’t a big disney fan. not that he didn’t like the movies, but he’d probably never watch one on his own. but with isolde, he really didn’t mind. “did you have a particular movie in mind?”

[kiranambani]

bomiis·:

“oh, no… oh, no…” bomi kept muttering to herself, clutching her blonde hair in her hands and staring down at it where a few black strands started to appear since the beginning of october. she was one of the very rare dryads who naturally changed hair colors due to the seasons and the state of their leaves. since it was fall, her hair was starting to turn darker and slowly into complete blackness. “not… not again.” she pouted. “i can tolerate my leaves falling, but i want to keep my blonde hair!” 

“goth bomi returns.” kiran exclaims dryly, looking up from the book he was reading to examine the nymph’s hair. as usual black strands had started to appear, he’d always thought that was pretty cool. bomi didn’t seem to agree with him on that though. “what’s wrong with black hair? you just gotta.. rock it. or whatever.” he told her, combing his fingers through his own dark mane. “your blonde hair will come back in like six months right? you’ll be fine.”

[kiranambani]

iscllde·:

@kiranambani

❝ sorry, we don’t serve liars here. can I get you a cup of bullshit for the road? ❞ 

“heyyy!” kiran whined. “that’s not fair. stop being so mean, i’m not lying i promise. also that doesn’t make sense. you don’t serve liars but you still give them something for the road? tsk..” he grinned, leaning forward to reach across the table and steal some food off of isolde’s plate. “i really can’t hang out because i’m already hanging out with someone else. i do have other friends you know? i promised i’d go see vic already so.. next time?” he pouted a little, trying his best to do some kind of puppy eyes.