"Put her down!" The shout pulls harshly out of Fidi's lungs as she pushes off the ground. They burn, the wound in her collar still burning, but its heat is quickly replaced by her own as fire crackles in her palms. "Now!"

"Satyr! Are you insane?" Instantly, arms wrap around her from behind, the bristling touch of feathers brushing against her skin as Chiffon whispers fiercely in her ear. "What about god do you not understand?"

"Oh I understand perfectly." It takes one breath to pull in enough oxygen in her, one breath to make the flames furl higher. "That doesn't mean I have to stand by and watch." She twists her head as best she can to face him, watching the fear alight in his eyes. "Let go."

The tension releases off her arms, but she lets the fire lick close to his skin. It's a warning. Her lip twitches as her gaze trails back to the vines, the so-called god... Phre. Anger pulses in her veins, but she keeps her breath steady. Dionysus' back is turned, focused entirely on keeping Phre suspended, the plants wrestling her into being still. A frown pulls at her face. Too much will burn her, too little leaves him room to attack me. There were three holding her, each only a few feet away...

"Gods Fidi! Stop thinking and go!"

Satyr's shout rings out, urging Fidi forward, hand outstretched. The vines felt rough, scratching at her skin even as she pushed the magic forward.

Instantly, the fire laces around it, forked tongues tasting the vegetation until it curls from brown to black.

"You know, I've never seen something that green before. ...It was beautiful, and now it's gone," Leiva whispers.

I know, Fidi answers, her chest tightening with the words. But I had to.

"H-hey! You really did not have to do that!" Chiffon runs in front of her, wings outstretched as much as his hands. "Wait uh- Dionysus? Could you maybe not?"

The disheveled man turns to face him, eyes wide in fake innocence as he clasps his hands behind his back. "I dunno... do you think I proved my point?"

"Yes! Thirty times over, yes, now can we please take care of the bleeding girl?"

"I'm fine. You act as though I'm on my deathbed," Fidi rolls her eyes, only perking up as Dionysus gently lowers Phre to the ground.

The vines fall away, leaving her to rub her wrists before she runs up, hand raised with a furious eyebrow. The slap echos as the god's head is swifty thrown to the side. "And now that that's taken care of-" Phre adjusts the brown cuff of her glove before finally settling her eyes on Fidi. It's one look, but it's enough to carve into her soul as she shrunk back. "I hate to break it to you Hun, but if you think a candle flame is about to save me from a god, I wouldn't call that fine."

She juts a thumb sharply at the crisped plant, only a few inches burnt out of several feet. A fang pokes out of Fidi's mouth as she bites her lip, eyes flicking to the ground.

"Well, I say it was a very heroic attempt for someone with a hole in their chest!" Dionysus clapped before sauntering back over to his car, tossing out random wrappers and clothes behind him. A half-eaten sandwich is quick to follow.

"That's... littering. He should pick it up!" It's not hard to pick up on Leiva's reprimanding tone, but Fidi simply sighs, accepting Phre's gentle hand to guide her towards the mess.

There's no point. What's five more pieces of garbage in this place? It already is being blown into the forlorn corners of the alley, joining its plastic brethren. The piles are already high, and to clear some means to clear all of it. I have enough fruitless tasks as it is.

"Finally!" A short, wheezy laugh draws out of Dionysus as his frail back snaps back into standing, the god holding a roll of bandages. "Knew I had these in here somewhere. Not that I'm the Olympia Corporation, but this stops the bleeding if you put it on top, right?"

"At this rate, I think Olympia would be safer." Phre snatches the roll out of his hand. "I'd rather face every Demigod they have than let you handle things. She needs the bullet out for Hera's sake. Do you have tweezers, supplies? Anything?"

"...Wine."

She makes no effort to hide her groan, the tips of her feathers fanning in annoyance. "Guess we'll have to make due. Lovely. Fidi, do you mind?"

"I'd prefer any other kind," she mutters, raising an eyebrow.

"Do we have to drink? You know someone else has to pick up your consequences, right?"

Yes, and I also think I've dealt with enough consequences and pain for one day, thank you. Still, her thoughts are interrupted as Dionysus pulls his head out of the car, shaking it.

"Sorry, beggars can't be choosers." He shrugs.

"I wasn't begging," Fidi snaps before she can stop herself. Still, she reaches to take the bottle out of his hand. The glass is smooth, yet heavy, much like how she knows the contents will be even before she drinks it. It's sickeningly sweet, the flavour of the grapes far too obvious for her tastes, but it's better than pain. Her head warms with blood as she swallows the last drop, forked tongue poking out of her mouth in disgust.

Then she rests the bottle on the ground, tipping back onto the car, waiting for the effects to kick in. It wouldn't be long. She knew from the last time she'd had the luxury to drink that Satyr could hold out far better than she could, but at least now the tease-worthy fact worked in her favour. As her eyes begin to feel slow, she traces them over the group: Phre moving away to sit on a pile of unused bricks, Dionysus sprawling on the ground to laugh at the sky... and Chiffon beside her, arms crossed and jaw set.

"Well, you've been rather quiet," Fidi points out, following his gaze to stare out the other end of the street. There isn't much there aside from a single bent lamppost, but something about the slowly doubling light is comforting.

"I'm just thinking. I'm allowed to do that, aren't I?"

"Mm, I suppose," Fidi muses, shifting her tail to sit on the ground beside her as it begins to feel far too heavy. "But I have a feeling it's dangerous."

"...what do you mean? Didn't I prove exactly what you wanted? Ta-da, god." He flung a hand out at Dionysus. "Powers and all. I led you here, never hurt you, and now you're getting healed as best you can without a Nymph or Olympia. What more do you want from me?"

"A plan, mainly." A sigh escapes her chest as it warms. "So we found a god. It doesn't seem as though he's going to take down the Hecatoncheires for us, or be a master of escape. So, since you wanted your Chimera so badly, what now?"

"Now... we find the last Marked." His hand grips at his forearm, holding the tattoo captive.

"Why? To do what?" She circles her hand, urging him to continue. "Do all the Marks have powers? Do they mean something?" Her wit feels farther and farther off the more she tries to think, her brain feeling as liquid as the wine, but it is still there. For now.

"Ooooh that's a me question," Dionysus cuts in, staring at the backs of his hands as he continues to lay. "There are three Marks. Life, Death, and the Flame to Choose. Those with it have magic, the power of gods. Which makes them very, very jea-lous."

"... so the last one has the power to heal? We have to find a Nymph?" Phre asks, perking up.

"Nope!" A grin flashes across his face. "Life is a bit more powerful than that. A Nymph can heal what is cut, but even they have their limits. No, this person could seal a wound, give you energy when you had nothing... remove the plague?" He hints, face turning to face her.

She snorts a bit in laughter. "What's the point in that? Beasts can't even catch it anyway. Besides, Humans can just go buy their vaccine."

"In times like these, it's quite a blessing of a power."

Fidi nods with the words, head heavy. She hadn't seen much, but anytime she'd left Styx, it had been obvious. The Humans lying in the streets, black spots eating away at their skin, eyes red before they fell out. The world was built for them, and yet they fell so easily. Ironic.

"Still, you're the only one who isn't a Beast," Fidi reminds him. "What use is the Mark to us?"

"It's said that all three Marks have the power to open the gates to the Underworld. I don't know about you, but I don't like this place very much. All the other gods got cool, epic-worthy deaths. Me? I was just left behind to rot." His voice grows wistful for a moment, his eyes scanning the sky once more, no doubt for stars long gone.

Then he sits up, smile back in its place. "Bet they didn't expect me to bounce back, no sir."

"So we could..." Fidi pauses as her voice rolls with the world, everything spinning and spiraling in a warm, milky sea. "We could- and then we- When we..."

"All right, I think that's good enough." Phre brushes the dirt off her shorts, rendering them to be a slightly more green blob as she walks over, the tips of her talons clicking on the asphalt. "You ready? You might still feel it."

"Mmm. Maybe I think."

With that, she pulls the shirt back slightly off Fidi's collar. She closes her eyes as seeing becomes useless, listening to the sounds of her tongue clicking as she inspects the wound. Then there's a pinch, a press as sharp as a dull butterknife, but it's too deep. The pinch then widens as she separates her two nails, reaching into her skin. It's fuzzy, but she can still make out a fresh stickiness trailing down her chest.

A sigh reaches her ears. "Fidi, I'm sorry, can you possibly start a fire? I can't see a thing."

With a sharp exhale, an offered grapevine from Dionysus becomes a torch, one that Chiffon holds near enough to flash a veiny orange through Fidi's closed eyes.

"There it is... almost got it..." Phre mutters, clicking her tongue once more.

Then the pain comes. Sharp, deep, hot, rushing to spread much farther than the dime-sized hole. A scream escapes her mouth before she can stop it, tears reaching her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. Just a bit more..."

The pain grows, connecting with the dizziness in her head. Bile crawls up her throat, but she's too weak to stop the sludge from leaking out with the next scream, twisting it into a choke. Darkness settles in beyond her eyes simply being closed, Phre's apologies sounding much farther than they had moments before.

A final tug pricks at her collar, light, wet, but it's the last thing she feels before everything becomes nothing at all.