Oh it's you..(Atticus) PG

Artemis was curled up on the sofa, feeling surprisingly cold despite the fireplace crackling before her. She was missing her sister and wanted nothing more than to just find her and just cuddle so they could sleep. It didn't help their dogs were not there to be able to help them sleep. Playing with the locket around her neck that held a picture of her family, she sighed staring into the fire. It was slightly annoying that practically every first year had gone to sleep but Artemis believed that was a good thing. Atticus was here and after upsetting her greatly, she just wished to avoid him.

Atticus walked out of his room, only wearing his pajama shorts. He walked around barefoot, and picked up several acid pops from his bag. He walked to the common room, and let them fall on top of the table, and then sat. He could feel the heat of the fire on his bare chest, as he put an Acid pop in his mouth, "Hey," he whispered at the girl watching the fire. Atticus recognized her scent easily. He had been trained to be a able to track humans he had been in close contact with not long ago and he excelled at that. Artemis...

Artemis could hear someone walking downstairs and her ears pricked up the moment she heard the whisper. Looking towards the speaker, her breath hitched. Speak of the Devil and the devil shall appear. Brilliant. She thought to herself and sighed. ''Hello Attie.'' She smirked and tilted her head at him. ''Can't sleep either?'' She asked, her playful smirk never fading and neither did her wandering gaze. She may only be young but she could still appreciate the good things in life.

Within the blink of an eye, Atticus had a hand gripping the sofa, "My name is Atticus," he said as he pushed the couch forwards a few inches. "Use my damn name," he said and then let an acid pop fall on the sofa, "Use your tongue for something interesting, instead of marginalizing my name," he growled and then walked back to his seat.

Artemis simply stared at Atticus, unblinkingly. ''Fine. Sorry..Atticus.'' She let the name roll of her tongue and she sighed. ''Why are you always so on...edge?'' She finally asked. The question had been bugging her the moment they met and it would never leave her mind.

Atticus sat back down, pleased Artemis had used his name, ''I was raised this way. It's not my fault, I'm just like this...'' he answered, as he bit the acid pop. "Oh and yes, Astra is my mom," Atticus added, his eyes showing kindness, but his expression looking empty.

Artemis felt suddenly sad at his explanation but that went away quickly. ''Ya need to lighten up. Have some fun. You're away from all that now, Attie-Atticus.'' She corrected quickly with an almost cheeky smile. ''I thought so...You ever been told that you have her eyes?'' She said, laying down on her chest facing Atticus. ''My mother is friend's with one of your aunts so i've met your mother on a few occasions. Never seen you though.'' Artemis mused.

"No...people who know me are either dead or don't know my mother...so no, no one has ever told me that..." he whispered, and this time around tried to ignore the fact Artemis nearly used that name again. "I've barely been with my mother these past two years. The other years, I was with her at least once a month. But now....I've been with her like thrice since 1989," Atticus admitted. "Which has been a bit hard on me, since I live with my godparents. I'd prefer having my mom around but she seems to prefer the rest of her family over me...."

Artemis immediately felt bad for even mentioning his mother. ''You really do...and wanna know something?'' She paused for a moment and got up, sitting next to Atticus. Taking his hand into hers, she stared into the fire. ''She doesn't want to have to repeat the same heartache she had when she lost your father and her first love. She probably pushes you to your godparents 'cause she believes they'll give you a better life. She's barely with the rest of the family you know?'' She then paused, staring at their hands intertwined. ''She sits in the graveyard. I've seen her...crying and talking to herself, to the grave of your father.'' She admitted and then furrowed her brow. ''But Atticus, she does love you. I know she does. I was talking to Luna about our first meeting and she overheard...she kept asking so many goddamn questions.'' She rambled on but then stopped completely, fearing she'd cause Atticus to react badly. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously.

Atticus suddenly went quiet as Artemis mentioned his father. Regulus' name was now taboo. With every member of the family. Atticus could only say his father's name around Mira, Drake and Serena, and he was only with them on rare occasions. Well, when he was home that is. "You know, some members of my family tell me he could've made it...if his brother had saved him..." Atticus whispered.

Artemis looked at Atticus and gave him a caring smile. Yeah he's a giant dickwad but look at him, Arty...He seems so...broken...She thought to herself and realized she was beginning to feel protective over Atticus and wanted to make him happy. ''Things are set in fate. Luna once told me that if the past is changed, something else happens. Everything in the world changes. For example...if he did save him, someone else would've died...'' She said gently, trying to get her voice as comforting as possible but it was so strange for Artemis to get close to someone and she had to admit, she liked it; being there for someone.

"I'd prefer if others died instead of my father...I didn't even get to know him..." he admitted honestly. "I mean, don't you love your father? I can't love mine...even if I want to,"  he said with a sigh.

Artemis sighed and squeezed Atticus' hand. ''I understand and yeah i love my father but,'' She paused, chewing harder on her lip as she had never admitted this before. ''There are times where...i believe the man who cares for me, treats me like a daughter and loves me back is not my father but every time i ask, my mother just gets angry at the fact i would even say something like that.'' She said before glancing up at Atticus. ''You can love him. Love him for the man he was, be proud of what he did. Just 'cause you haven't met him doesn't mean you can't love him and get to know him through other people.'' She said gently.

"But all he did was try to destroy the man that tried to lead the army that wanted to enforce what he himself believed in...at least, it's what I understand from reading his journals. I haven't read all of them...he may explain it in the future...but all I know is that for now, I can only be proud about him being a backstabber,"  Regulus admitted, and unknowingly clenched his fists, not in anger, he actually didn't know what was taking over him. Rage, or sadness, he wasn't sure, he just couldn't handle it.

Artemis could feel him clenching his fists but no pain came despite his strength. ''Reputation, Atticus...Would you really want to write everything in your journal? The good and the bad so whenever you passed, someone read them? Everyone has a different opinion of him. If Astra loved him then she must've had an amazing opinion of him.'' She said gently and moved in the chair so she could face him completely. Still keeping their hands locked, she placed her other hand on his cheek. ''Atticus...Your parents loved each other. They made you for Salazar's sake. Isn't that a good enough reason to love him? 'cause he brought you into this world? I mean if it weren't for him, i wouldn't be having this conversation and i'd most likely be curled up on that armchair crying.'' She said with a smile.

"If not for him, my mother wouldn't be depressed she lost another lover either..." he said. He sounded depressed and in fact, that was what he was truly feeling. Depression hitting him. His thoughts were usually all about fighting and killing but when his father invaded his mind, he didn't have much choice but to stay depressed.

Artemis' heart seemed to crack a little at the depressed tone in his voice. Releasing his hand, she wrapped both of her arms around Atticus' neck and held him. ''Atticus...'' She whispered gently and kept hugging him close to her. ''She's lost a lot of people in her life, a lot of people have. Depression comes and goes...'' She whispered before smiling. ''I'm going to do everything i can to make it go away. To make you happy...'' She vowed.

Atticus wrapped his arms around Artemis, for a moment, letting the walls around his heart fall. This girl had something about that made Atticus feel less wary of his surroundings, therefore, trust was beginning to form. "Thanks..." he whispered, "When is the next escapade to go kill old men?" he asked with a small grin.

Artemis was slightly shocked when Atticus wrapped his arms around her but she recovered wen she buried her face in his neck. He had something about him that made her feel..comfortable and safe. ''It's okay..'' She whispered back, glad he was slowly beginning to trust her. ''I have no idea..Whenever you wish it or whenever Luna has a task for us. We're still a bit young to choose the family we protect so we just take on tasks or in other words, assassinations.'' She said, smiling lightly. Moving slightly, she still stayed in his arms but rested her head on his shoulder.

Atticus tilted his head slightly, before giving Artemis a small nod. Assassinations. They were so young and already carrying out such things. ''Tell me about the order Artemis...cause ya know, I'm a member simply because my mother is who she is. And cause of the mark. But other than that, I'm really not 'inside' things. I mostly just hang out with Celeste and help her doing whatever she wants," he truly did. Celeste pretty much had him under her control. That girl...was intoxicating.

Artemis smiled slightly and stared at the fire whilst unknowingly nestling herself in Atticus' arms. ''Please Atticus...Call me Arty.'' She told him with a bigger smile. ''I have to admit..i don't know that much. Celeste knows more and yeah..i know you hang out with Celeste. It'll be weird without her around...'' She admitted before thinking about the Order. ''The order was founded by Luna's ancestors. Six brothers and sisters came together and cast a ritual to create the order. The descendants, if they have the power, are born with the mark. Other than Protectors, we are known as the Dragon born due to the fact our mark represents the balance between Drakon and Lupis, Dragons and wolves. Each Dragon Born would be sworn to a family of great power at a young age and must serve them for there entire lifetime. We may break the ties we have to that family if we are abused by them due to the power Lupis have given us.'' She explained, her voice slightly dreamy. ''
We are taught ancient magics to aid us in missions and are bound to the families we serve until released or until we leave after substantial amounts of abuse.''

Atticus played with her hair as he heard her explanation, and payed extra attention to any detail she added. ''Well Arty, that all sounds pretty....awesome. Though I'm pretty sure the family I'm protecting, is my own!'' It could sound a bit selfish, but those were the ones he cared about the most. His family. Which in a way, meant he'd be tied to his family even more. "Any idea who you'll be 'protecting'?" Atticus asked with a grin.

Artemis leaned into his hand and smiled. ''Yeah it is pretty awesome when you think about it. Luna did that along with your family.'' She told him, smiling. She then sighed sadly. ''I think i'd protect the Grimm's...'' She told him, not mentioning her own family due to how unconnected she feels from the Shadows.

Atticus furrowed a brow, and had a quizzical expression, ''She protected my family?'' he asked. ''Why not protect your father's family?'' he then said, throwing in his own question.

Artemis nodded. ''She is your aunt...and she was friends with Sirius. Besides...The Valkyrie Family are sworn to protect the Blacks since the Order began...'' She told him, slightly surprised he didn't know. Hearing his question, she stared at the floor before them. ''Because i don't feel connected to the Shadows..like at all. He may be my father but i'm a Calor, always will be.'' She admitted. ''There are no Calors left but I so...I protect myself. I'm not the greatest person with trust and leaving my life in other people's hands. It's rare for me to do so.'' She told Atticus and then realized due to the pair's closeness, she trusted him and would put her life in his hands.