𝐖𝐇𝐎: DIOMEDES & SCYLLA ( @sccylla ) 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: PONTIUS, AUGMENTATION DEMONSTRATION STATION 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: FEBRUARY 2130, WEEK TWO OF THE SUMMIT
Here’s the thing about the smaller cities in Arcadia: they are almost impossible to escape. Not in the way one would become trapped in a haunted house, or a giant maze – but in the sense that, when one is growing up there, it is difficult to imagine a life anywhere else. Sure, there are a few success stories – people who went out and made something of themselves, despite their humble beginnings, but these are few and far between – most ‘successes’ seemed to be those who already had deep pockets and rich bloodlines. So, when Diomedes had set their mind on greatness at a young age, it had been with the knowledge that they would need to fight for everything they would earn. Scylla... well, Scylla never seemed to need to fight as hard.
Having grown up in neighbouring cities, it is easy enough to draw comparisons between Diomedes and Scylla. They had both been among the lucky ones who had escaped, who had managed to create lives for themselves outside of their humble upbringings. Despite coming from similar backgrounds, Diomedes had always been quietly jealous of Scylla. Her intelligence had seemed unmatched – and she’d never had to work to be the best, not in the way Diomedes had. Things seemed to come naturally to her, and though Diomedes was always destined for greatness, Scylla seemed to seize it as though it had been her prophecy, all along.
She would admit to taking some satisfaction in watching the mighty fall – in watching Scalpel crumble under the weight of its own shortcomings, though she still considered Scylla friend enough to reach into her own pockets to save it from the brink of collapse. It was always like this, with them, just waiting for the other to fail so they could seize the upper hand – she was sure that Scylla now took the same pleasure in watching Diomedes squirm under the scrutiny of the public eye.
They approach Scylla’s station with a playful smirk, leaning up against the bench as though it were theirs ( though, with the amount of money they had invested into both Scalpel and Aegean, they supposed this was almost the case ). “So, is this what you’ve been working on since boarding ship?” She asks, “Doesn’t look like much.”