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Fourteen champions. Look, 4cvit was used to shitty odds, very used to that in fact. He'd gotten through all of that just fine - until he'd died, at least, but that hadn't been his own fault and he was sure that wasn't happening again. But fighting one on one, no tricks or strategy involved, was not something he was good at.
However, that just meant he needed to find strategy elsewhere. There was the social game, of course, a game he considered himself to be fine at, as long as he stayed focused on the end goal. And then there was a certain aspect of the social game that not many people even realized was there - one he was very good at.
He hadn't gone with one of the certain champions who had caught his eye - actually, the man had caught his eye for the same reasons he'd decided against going with him. Even though he wasn't exactly sure who the guy's champion was, he was sure he had something fiery going on based on the rumors he'd already heard from the others. Quite the opposite of 4c's own champion, Thetis, one of the Nereids.
But that'd just make Abolish - he was pretty sure that was the guy's name, they still hadn't spoken directly - an even stronger ally. It'd make him a very formidable enemy, at least, one he did not want to challenge.
Tossing his knife up and down in his hand, he made his way toward where he was pretty sure Abolish had gone after the first blessing. Aphrodite's champion had gone with him, he was pretty sure, but that probably wouldn't be an issue. She didn't seem like that much of a threat, not much as the more violent champions.
Hearing laughter up ahead, he slipped his knife into the folds of the blue-green clothes he'd been given, hurrying toward where he could spot Abolish and Mae just beyond a hill. Abolish spotted him first, turning his attention on him with an instant with those cat-like bright amber eyes.
"Hello?" it hummed, head tilting to the side just slightly. Mae looked over at him while he slowed to a stop a few feet away, her bright smile matching his own.
"You're 4cvit, right?" He had to admit that he felt a little awkward standing in front of the two of them, when he was probably one of the shortest out of all of the champions, but he hadn't ever let that bother him before and he certainly wasn't going to now.
"Yeah, you can just call me 4c," he said with a nod. Honestly, not only did he feel tiny when everyone here was either stupid tall or stupid buff or both, but he felt completely overdressed when almost everyone seemed to be shirtless at least. "We haven't gotten a chance to talk yet so I figured I'd come say hi."
"It's great to meet you!" Mae glanced him up and down, while Abolish was merely staring intently at him with its practically glowing orange eyes in a way that made his stomach squirm. Maybe befriending it was going to be a little more challenging than he'd thought, even if he didn't have a clue why. "And you're the champion of…?"
"I haven't really been telling everyone," he laughed, glancing down at himself. "It's probably easy to guess, though." With the all blue color scheme, including but not limited to his hair that now seemed naturally teal, it was easy to tell his patron was some sort of sea god.
"Yeah, a little," Abolish spoke up at last, the slightest smile forming on his face out of the corner of his eye. His teeth poked out just slightly, sharp canines glinting; 4c had to wonder if he was human, or if he was some sort of nonhuman, changed by his patron like Cleo or Apo. "I haven't been telling people either, I don't think most people have been."
"That's fair, yeah." Mae's bright green eyes flicked between the two of them. "Well, I was planning on going around and getting to know everyone better, if either of you wanted to come with me?I get it if you want to prepare or whatever, like you said, Abolish."
He gave a small hum, tilting his head again. "Yeah, I'm probably gonna go collect some more resources, find somewhere to stay…"
"I was planning on going mining?" 4c suggested, looking back up at Abolish. Its gaze met his own for a moment before it looked away quickly. "You're welcome to come with me."
"Yeah, sure." Glancing at Mae, he nodded once. There was something odd in his expression that 4c couldn't quite place, although maybe he just hadn't been around people in so long that he was a little rusty at reading emotions. "Good luck with…"
He trailed off, the other smiling at him and tossing a bit of their hair behind their shoulder. "You too! See you later?"
"Mhm." They turned away and began to walk down the hill the three of them had been standing on, Abolish's gaze lingering on them for just a moment before he looked over at 4c; he felt a strange feeling tighten in his chest and wondered if his emotions were just all out of sorts because of his recent revival. He'd probably be back to normal soon, he didn't need to worry about it at all.
He hoped that was true, at least.
It'd been a long day of mining and 4c was exhausted. He didn't have much of a house yet, but he had the materials for one, so when Abolish offered to help he simply waved it off with a smile and promised he'd be alright. Although he swore he could see a bit of worry on the other man's face, he was sure he was imagining things.
He was too tired to think properly, anyway. Everything he and Abolish had talked about was swirling around in his head like soup, all the words mixing together into something mostly incomprehensible, the sound of the man's voice lingering in his mind even by the time he finished his small makeshift house and collapsed into bed.
"I mean- I'm pretty used to being, uh, places like this." He'd said it while avoiding looking at 4c, or perhaps he was too focused on the iron he was mining, muscles flexing as he swung his pickaxe effortlessly.
"Uh huh?" 4cvit stepped beside him, tilting his head in a failed attempt to look him in the eyes. His brow seemed to furrow just slightly, but he didn't otherwise acknowledge being stared at. "Like… mining, or?"
"Kind of." He paused, then lifted his pickaxe over his shoulder, turning away from 4c. "Places that are… hot, like this."
It wasn't too odd, considering 4c knew plenty of places that got very hot in the summer, but he didn't know anywhere that had running lava like this. Was Abolish referring to that, or was he reading too far into its words? The man was mysterious, to say the least, and he found himself following close behind it as it headed off to find more stuff to mine.
Everything it'd said was still odd, some air of weirdness 4cvit couldn't shake as he laid in bed staring up at the ceiling; he wanted to figure it out, dissect it in his head until he discovered exactly what was going on with it, but he couldn't fight his exhaustion for long when he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Maybe he could talk to some of the other champions soon, ask around to see if anyone else had any ideas.
Mae seemed to be friends with everyone already, so she'd probably be a good place to start, at least better than trying to talk to Nikos who was… well, 4c didn't want that guy shouting all his plans at the top of his lungs. Mae or that one other girl he'd seen around who seemed to be decently friendly, Graecie or something along those lines. Perhaps he shouldn't have spent his day following Abolish around like a weird lost dog, but it had been for very important research.
Abolish was… interesting. Occasionally, for a split second, 4c noticed him holding himself the same way he did, like he was doing something wrong by merely existing around other people, but it was gone as soon as it came. It all only made him feel even more confused about what this guy's deal could possibly be, because from everything he said it certainly sounded like his upbringing had been a normal one. He was a fighter of some sort, a professional, not running around hiding himself taking what he needed from others like 4cvit had lived.
Maybe it had something to do with the scar he'd caught the occasional glimpse of on its back, mostly hidden by its red and black clothes. It hadn't discussed it much, and with his own chest scars barely hidden by the loose clothing he'd been given, 4c knew better not to inquire about personal things like that. Everyone had their secrets - and he would figure it out eventually, just not directly.
The last thing in his head before he drifted off to sleep was Abolish's face, cat-like eyes as bright as the lava around them. Out of pure curiosity only, of course.