here's my submission to the city of gods rp short story contest :) hope you enjoy! let me know any feedback you might have - i really appreciate it! (character credit to @hxgartsxobsxssed ) ((i took the rp straight and morphed it to make some sense as part of a short story)) ------ PART ONE - - - KIYLA Kiyla was wandering down a long hallway, stopping to look at the paintings, and examining the uniforms of the painted soldiers. Suddenly someone ran into her, causing her to grip the wall next to the painting for balance. "Hey!" "Oh, sorry I- Kiyla." Oh, stars. It was Achilles. Her number one competitor since... since as long as she could remember. She gave herself lots of credit for even being considered a competitor. She shook off the thought, making a face at him, straightening to match his stiff posture. "Can't even spare me anything but a glare, Achilles? Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. Probably. " Best to keep him on his toes - it made conversations more interesting. "Why do you have to be like that?" Achilles said, his shoulders relaxing more. "I mean the flirting. The chit-chat. Why?" Kiyla, paused, then lifted a shoulder. "Who said I was flirting? And chit-chat? Sorry, am I not allowed to talk to people?" Was he trying to be more annoying today? "You're just being very.." he paused, looking at her, "loud." She raised her voice a little. "Sorry, did you say I was being loud?" Achilles groaned, "you're always loud, Kiyla" he said, trying to get past her. "Now may I pass?" Kiyla rolled her eyes. "No one was stopping you. There's a whole hallway for you to pass by me. You didn't have to run into me." "I didn't run into you, you blocked my path. There is a difference, " he grumbled, walking past, thunder rumbling from outside conveniently helping to illustrate his annoyance. "Which god decided to make a storm now?" He stopped in his tracks, heading back towards her. She laughed, leaning against the wall. "Maybe you should ask." She looked around mockingly, smirking. "Or am I blocking your way again?" "Go away" he murmured, rolling his eyes. He walked back the way he'd originally come from, and she called: "I was standing here first!" She huffed, then walked over to a window, watching the rain, contemplating going outside. Achilles walked through the rain, starting to train in one of the various arenas. Kiyla realized she was totally staring at him, and quickly turned away. She paused, glanced back, then scolded herself silently. After some time, she noticed Achilles walking back down the corridor, looking down at the ground, and as he looked up, she gaped. "What?" he grumbled, though, silently with a knowing smile. Kiyla quickly closed her mouth and made a face. "You got tired of being in the rain?" She was pretending she wasn't still holding her coat. He didn't need to know that she had been planning on going outside. "I'm heading to training," he said, "I don't get tired." She rolled her eyes. "That's not what I asked." "Oh yeah? And why are you with your coat? Were you planning on joining me?" he asks, with a devilish smirk. "Oh, don't think I can't see it when you hide it behind you." She groaned. “There are more places outside than just where you are. And besides, why would I want to join you?” Had he just flirted? It was a poor attempt. "I don't know, maybe it's just the fact you follow me everywhere. It's like you're my shadow or something," he said, rolling his eyes. Without saying a word, he left to his training rooms. - - - ACHILLES Achilles was training when Kiyla walked in. He didn't notice her, but she stood at the doorway, watching. Achillles looked up and nearly dropped the weight. He groaned, "Kiyla what are you doing here?" Kiyla paused, then shrugged. "Would you believe me if I said I wanted to train?" "Obviously," Achilles said, surprised. "Why wouldn't I?" "Well...I don't know. You don't seem the type to believe me." She walked in, looking around. "I would believe you." he said, quietly, watching her walk over. He watched in amusement as Kiyla went over to the punching bag, and just started throwing fists. Achilles walked over, "may I?" he asked, gesturing towards her fists. She nodded. "... yeah. It was really that easy to tell that I don't know what I'm doing?"
-------- PART TWO Achilles laughed, "no, no it's not that it's just-" he paused, looking at her annoyed expression. "Yeah" he said with a laugh. Slowly, he reached for her hand, tucking her thumb under her fingers. He carefully folded each finger over, but he couldn't help the butterflies he felt, but he pushed it away. She raised her fist, still looking confused. "What's the difference between this and what I was doing before?" She held up her other hand, still in the wrong position to compare. "Well, your thumb was out. We can't have that, or the second you throw the punch, that's what'll hit first. In other words, you'll break your thumb." he said. "Try now?" She stared at the punching bag for a second, then nodded. She was doing considerably better this time. "Better" he said, with a grin. There was a moment where he stared at her, admiring her features. She was quite pretty, though he hated to admit it. And she was strong and smart. 'What am I doing?' he thought to himself, and quickly shook it off. "Um- do you need more help or are you good?" “Considering this is the only thing I know how to do… so as long as I never need to do anything but punch someone I’ll be totally fine.” Achilles laughed, "I can teach you kicks too," he said jokingly. 'Was she being playful?' he thought to himself, 'this is a first' Kiyla shrugged. “Those might be more useful on a battlefield,” she laughed. Achilles smiled, then realized exactly what was happening. He was enjoying himself. "I- I should go" he said, fumbling with his things. Kiyla frowned and gently stopped him from getting his things. “Wait- why?” He froze for a second. "I-" he said, "I just realized that I'm late for my soldier duties," he said, with a swift nod. He was opening too much and too fast, so he left without another word. - - - KIYLA She watched him go, not willing to acknowledge how disappointed she was. She'd thought he'd been opening up a little. And what soldier duties required him to leave right then anyway? She considered following, but then figured that might be too obvious, and simply started punching the punching bag in frustration, leaving her knuckles cracked and sore. A few days later, Kiyla was on a bench outside, struggling with the bandages. She'd gone outside in the hope of not running into anyone, but she'd forgotten that she'd need help. She grumbled a little, then lightly threw the bandage roll to the ground, slumping back onto the bench in frustration. She jumped when Achilles cleared his throat awkwardly, "um- may I?" he said, gesturing towards her wound. She frowned at her hands, eventually giving in and nodding. She picked the bandage roll back up and held it out to him. He took a seat, grabbing the bandage roll and wrapping it carefully around her wound. "Just tell me if this hurts" he said jokingly, his fingertips brushing her arm. She smiled a little, staying still. "We're good so far." She watched quietly, feeling like everything was electric. Had it always been harmless flirting just to get on his nerves? After he was done, Achilles cleared his throat again. "Uh, that should last you," he said, looking anywhere but at her. Kiyla smiled a little. “Uhhh my face is over here.” She paused, then checked the bandages, surprised he’d done such a good job. Achilles continued to look down, "sorry-" he started. "Saying sorry doesn't fix the problem." She rolled her eyes, reaching over and lifting his chin upward so she could actually see his face. He looked so serious when he whispered, "Why do I get butterflies whenever I see you?" Her smile softened, and she whispered, "I don't know. You do the same to me." "I didn't even like you- you were the one I /hated/," he said, "so why now?" His breath caught as he leaned forward, just a bit. “Maybe you never hated me,” she whispered, not believing it, and leaned forward the tiniest bit. His lips nearly touched hers. She hesitated, then closed the small distance. Achilles pulled away after a moment, his face bright red. She grinned a little. "Now, tell me. How awful was that? How much did you dread it?" She was mostly teasing, but she was a little scared he'd say he hated it. Achilles grinned slightly, "no, actually," he said. "I quite enjoyed it" he paused, "and I hate the fact that I did." He then leaned forward again, closing the distance once more. She smiled against him, pulling away ever so slightly. She lifted a shoulder. “Maybe you’ll get used to not hating it.” Or the other option: he hated it forever.
