This is my second story. I know more or less where this story is going, so please tell me what you think, what I could make better and if there are any mistakes. English is not my first language and I want to get better.
Chapter 1
The silence around the deer was interrupted by the whistling sound of a flying arrow. The deer, covered by a large tree, sprinted away without any injury. Further away, hidden behind the leafs of an oak tree was a figure, whose face was hidden by the shadows. As he saw his prey flee, he grunted and pushed himself off the tree. The dim light lit up his handsome features, showing a boy of approximately twenty five with black hair, green eyes and a short beard. He cursed as he realized that his prey was gone. A quiet laugh rang behind this young man and a smaller figure, also a man, came from the shadows.
By saying that this man came from the shadows, I mean that he really did walk right of the shadows.
"Told you we should've gone fishing", he said with glee. He must have been about 18 years old and had also black hair. He had the blackest eyes and his skin was pale.
The older male kicked a pebble away and said: "Naah. You know I don't feel comfortable doing that."
"Well, then you should have let me hunt this thing.". The boy smirked. "You know that you suck at archery, Perce"
"Hey!". The man, Percy, turned around and crossed his arms. "You know I've gotten better at it. Besides…". He walked away to pick up the arrow that missed the prey. "The deer didn't look that good anyways"
The boy, whose name was Nico, rolled his eyes and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Whatever, man. I'm hungry again and we should look for something fresh and eatable before it gets too dark to hunt". He eyed Percy and he understood immediately what Nico wanted from him.
"I'm not going to fish anything.", he said determinedly and loudly as they both walked through the forest. "You go fishing and I'll make the fire."
The sun was going down slowly and there was a fresh breeze going through the peaceful, abandoned beach. Two hours had passed since Percy failed to kill his prey.
Percy was now sitting in a sheltered spot, tending the camp fire as he held a pipe in his other hand. He didn't move as Nico approached, with three fish hanging on a rope. His smirk could have blended the sun.
Nico stopped right next to Percy and swung the rope with the meal in front of his face. Percy closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. It was nice to see Nico acting like a kid again, but sometimes (this was one of the many times) it was irritating as Hades.
"Well done, Nico", Percy admitted. He took the fish and threw them on the tattered pan.
"Thanks", Nico said smirking and sat down on the other side. He lay down on his back and sighed contently. "I had to get help from some skeletons, but they didn't help much."
Percy raised an eyebrow as he let out a puff of smoke and turned the fish so that they would cook on both sides.
Nico would never admit to his friend that the skeletons had done all the work while he relaxed under the sun.
His eyes fixed on the darkening sky and his mind was blank. Well, almost blank. His thoughts were on that day they he left Olympus. It was two days before he joined Percy and they started their lives as outcasts.
"Do you think they're looking for us?"
"Why should they?", Percy replied coldly.
"Well, it's been two years. I think it's strange that we haven't encountered any demigods."
He was met with silence.
"You could think that what we did in the past wasn't-"
"Dinner's ready", Percy cut him off, "Here" He pierced a fish with a knife and handed it to Nico, who was still a little perplexed. They ate in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.
After finishing dinner they cleaned everything and buried the leftovers. Today it was Nico's turn to set up the tent.
Nico didn't feel comfortable while doing this. Percy was being terribly silent and he didn't like it. To Nico, silence meant death and the resurface of painful and embarrassing memories. The memories and feelings you've been trying so hard to bury deep inside your soul escape your sub-conscience and hunt you in your dreams and thoughts. There is almost no escape from them.
He wondered why Percy enjoyed the silence so much. He should be terrified from it after Tartarus, the wars and the curse. And yet Percy liked being silent. Maybe the memories didn't hurt so much if he thought about happier times. Or maybe, just maybe Percy enjoyed the silence because it made him quiet inside and the painful memories were easier to control.
Nico shook his head. Nothing made any sense. All this thinking was making him tired and –oh boy, what a long day he had had today. He and Percy had been up since sunrise. They've made no breaks during the day, only stopped once to eat something. He was tired. And his feet were sore. And his back ached from carrying the heavy backpack. He was still hungry. It was in moments like these were he missed fast-food restaurants.
Stop complaining!, he mentally slapped himself. You've been through worse things! You knew what you were getting in to when you chose this life!
I knew that, but not really…
Shut up! I'm not supposed to talk to myself! Leave me alone!
Great, now he was talking to himself! Next he would act like Gollum.
A thing that always made him feel guilty when those memories rose up was the reason for joining Percy. The real reaon. He'd told Percy and himself that he'd done it because it had been the right thing to do. It was true, but it wasn't the main reason. He would never say it out loud, but to be honest Nico had joined his oldest friend out of pity. Yes, pity.
That day was still fresh and alive in Nico's mind. The air in the forest had been musky. The forest had smelled of wet plants and trees and fertile earth. He still remembers the buzzing sounds of insects and the sounds of walking animals. Nico knows that he would have never found Percy had it not been for the smoke of the campfire.
Nico sat up shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He was tired; he should try to get some sleep. As he relaxed and his eyes closed, something told Nico that he should stay awake. But before he could open his eyelids again, he fell asleep and a memory took form in his dream.
So? What do you think? Please REVIEW