A New Friend
II.
P. Jackson
Yuvonam's first strike almost knocked me off my feet. When his spear hit my sword, it felt like I'd just been hit by a truck. I staggered back and tried to regain my balance, but I didn't have time. Yuvonam was already attacking again. He was so fast; I could barely get out of his way. He managed to graze my arm with the edge of his blade. My arm tingled. I glanced over and saw lightning crackling around his spear. 'Great, the damn thing's electric.' I had nothing but disadvantages. He had a spear, which meant he didn't need to get in close to do any real damage and he could electrocute me with the slightest touch. He was faster, stronger, and he was fully armored. Things weren't looking good for me. I tried my best to get close to him. When he attacked, I would side step his thrust and try to hit him, but he was just too fast. Every time I swung he blocked or dodged me. It was starting to get really annoying.
When he swung his spear again, I tried to side step, but I went the wrong way this time. As soon as I moved to his left, he brought his shield up and slammed it into the side of my head. I fell flat on my butt. He'd hit me right in the temple. My vision was blurry and I could feel something wet and warm running down the side of my face. Yuvonam sighed as he said "Such a shame. I'd hoped that our little match would've lasted longer. Oh well." He threw his shield to the side, slowly walked up to me, raised his spear, and was about to bring it down right into my stomach. But before he could, I swept his feet from under him.
He landed with a thud as he hit the ground and he dropped his spear. My vision was a bit clearer, but my balance was off and my head was throbbing. I struggled to my feet and pointed Riptide at his neck and like an idiot said "I think I win" He chuckled "Good to see you still have some fight left in you." He kicked Riptide out of my hand and did a backflip into the air. In the middle of his flip, something sprouted from his back. When he landed, I could see it more clearly. Jutting out from his back were two big, golden, leathery bat wings. "You're quite strong, for a mortal. It is not often that my opponent gets the better of me." The words came out rough and distorted, as if there were two people talking at once. He raised his armored hand and pointed at me. "You are a worthy opponent! It has been an age since I've had a good battle. But, I'm afraid our little match ends now." The camp stared in horror as he began to change. His body started to faintly glow with a gold light and he started growing. Behind him, a gold, scaly tail sprouted from his backside and his neck extended. His fingers turned to claws, his armor melted into glistening, golden scales. His body started to glow even brighter than before until he was too bright to look at.
After a few moments the light died down and what we saw shocked us. Yuvonam was gone. But where he had stood, was a golden, four legged dragon the size of the Argo II with two great, big, golden eyes. The monster lumbered toward me, each step causing the arena to shake. The dragon spoke to me in a deep, animalistic voice that made my ears hurt. "Nu, fin vahzah gor do hin suleyk gon." I just stood there. I had no idea what it was saying. I guess it could tell I didn't understand, because then it said, "Ah, sometimes I forget you mortal do not know the Dovahzul, such simple creatures you are, far from the great warriors you once were." I looked around and saw everyone with their weapons out, ready to jump in and help if things got ugly. Well, uglier. As if reading my thoughts the dragon, whom I finally realized was Yuvonam, laughed and said, "Ah, ah, ah. This battle is between you and me. Interference will not be tolerated. Helt Gesein Sken!" The second those words left his mouth, there was an earth shattering boom. Then one by one, everyone fell to the floor as iron chains appeared around their bodies.
This is bad. Now I'm truly alone. I'm weaponless, dizzy, bleeding, and out of my league. I looked around for Riptide, but didn't see it. I guess it's already back I my pocket, though I doubt I will do any good at this point. Yuvonam could've killed me at any time; he was just toying with me, watching me squirm and loving every minute of it, like a cat playing with a freshly caught mouse. I hate it when people use me for their own amusement. I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of Yuvonam growling in annoyance. "Die now Perseus." He raised himself onto his hind legs, preparing to attack. I drew Riptide and jumped to the side just as he lugged at me, narrowly escaping the razor like teeth that filled his mouth. As he went past me, I brought my sword down, expecting it to slice right through his neck. Instead, it bounced off, not leaving even a scratch. A sharp pain went up my arm, as if I'd just punched a brick wall.
Yuvonam gave a throaty laugh and said "It will take more than that to pierce my hide." He swung his tail and hit me right in the chest. I went fly across the arena and slammed in the wall so hard, it felt like I broke some ribs. I probably did. I was in so much pain that I had no time to move out of the way as I got hit by a stream of lightning. The pain was so bad, I nearly blacked out. I looked down and saw a hole in my shirt about the size of a basketball. I don't know how, but I was still alive. Yuvonam charged me, fangs bared, but I managed to use what little strength I had left and roll out of the way. Yuvonam barreled straight into the wall head first. This bought me a little time, but I still had no way of harming him.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw something shining. It was the spear he had dropped. Riptide might not be able to hurt him, but I bet his own sword could. While Yuvonam was dazed, I grabbed his spear, or at least I tried to. I had no strength left in me and my body throbbed in pain, but I wouldn't let that stop me. When I'd finally lifted it off the ground, I turned to see Yuvonam pouncing at me once again. This was it; I only had one shot at this. If I screwed up, I would die. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as I hoisted us the spear and with a sickening slosh it sank into the right side of his chest. Yuvonam roared in agony and staged back as I pulled the spear out, which, to my surprise, was now covered in Ichor, the blood of immortals. He held one of his massive claws to the whole in his chest and looked at me with wonder. His body glow and once again the man in the lion armor stood in front of me.
He crossed his arms and smirked at me. "I must say, I am impressed. Not only did you manage to stay alive, but you even managed to wound me, miniscule though it may be. That is quite an accomplishment in my book. Had I been like my lesser kin, that blow would have fell me. You have a strong soul. One as powerful as you deserves a reward." He snapped his fingers and his shield reappeared on his arm and melted into a watch with a gold face. Then he walked up to me and touched the spear and it turned into a golden pen. "For your valor, I give to you my shield and spear. As well as this." He took a ring off his finger and held it in front of me. It was a simple ring. Just a gold band with a flat face engraved with, you guessed it, a lion. "When the time comes, it will lead you to an invaluable aid." He handed me the watch and ring and said. "May these gifts serve you well." He stepped back and disappeared in a flash of golden light. After that, everything went black.
I woke up in the infirmary. My shirt was gone and my chest and head were bandaged. Annabeth was sitting in a chair next to me. "Annabeth?" "Percy! Are you all right? How do you feel?" "Like sunshine and fricken daisies." I got rewarded with a punch for that. "Ow. Sorry, I guess it wasn't funny." "No it wasn't. You nearly died. Again! Do you think you could take this a little seriously!?" "Maybe." I got hit again. "Ow! Stop doing that." "Annabeth, can you stop hitting my patient?" Michael Yew said as he walked over to us. "Only if he stops acting like a Seaweed Brain."
Michael gave me some nectar and ambrosia. "You have a mild concussion and your burns are pretty bad, but you should be fine in a few hours, give or take." I thanked him. He nodded and went to take care of some of the Ares campers that were still out cold. Annabeth was sitting on a chair next to my bed; she looked deep in thought, like she was trying to figure out what was going to happen next. Clarisse was there too. After she'd gotten her arm fixed she stayed to look after her siblings. She may act tough, but she has a real soft spot for her brothers and sisters. Just don't ever let her catch you saying it, or else you'll get Maimer to the stomach. We told her what happened after she left and she looked a little disappointed about "missing all the action." as she put it. "So I get a broken arm and you get a new spear and a shield? That hardly seems fair Prissy." She laughed.
The three of us talked a little longer, and then decided to go our separate ways. Clarisse stayed at the infirmary, Annabeth left to teach some of the younger campers, and I finally got to go rest in my cabin. I flopped down on my bed exhausted. Maybe the rest of my day would be a little tamer. Though with my luck, the minute I woke up there would be another monster ready to kill me. Why do the fates hate me? I closed my eyes and lay there, waiting for the next nightmare that was sure to come.
To my surprise, this was a relatively normal dream, well normal as far as demigod dreams go. I was standing next to Thaila's Pine looking past Half-Blood Hill. Coming up the hill was a boy about my age. He was thin. Not like sickly thin, but more like a swimmer. He had tan skin and long, blood red hair that curled slightly at the ends. Hanging in front of his right ear was a braid similar to Piper's. His hair was tied back in a ponytail with a light blue ribbon tied in a bow. Though they were hard to see because his bangs covered them, his eyes looked strange. One was pink, like bubble gum. The other, it was sea green like mine. He had soft features and if you didn't know any better, you'd think he was a girl. He wore black skinny jeans, black boots, black fingerless gloves, and a light blue t-shirt that said "Got Frost?". Over his t-shirt he wore a short sleeve, black, leather jacket. Flung over his shoulder was a blue and black backpack with what looked like a katana handle sticking out.
From his jacket popped out a small, white kitty with black stripes like a leopard or tiger. He smiled at it and rubbed it between its ears. As he made his way up the hill there was a rustling noise. The kitty hissed and retreated inside the boy's jacket. From behind some trees came five pale, black haired, red eyed people with raggedy, torn up black clothes. Four of them were, once, women. They were deathly thin and looked like their skin had just been stretched over their faces. One was baled and the others had messy hair. Their red eyes were sunken in; they had pointed ears and sharp bronze claws. And of course, what monster would be complete without a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.
The fifth one looked more human than the others. Unlike the others who looked like they were starving, he looked well fed. He wore an all-black suit with a black shirt and tie, and black pointed shoes. Around his neck was a silver amulet with a ruby. He looked the boy up and down then grinned, but instead of a mouth full of fangs, he only had two abnormally large canines. "Well, Well, Well. What do we have here? A little lost baby boy?" the kid blushed at the comment and looked very mad. "Not you again. I thought I lost you days ago. And what's with the posse? I thought you beasts liked being alone." " Well, think again. You should know you can't out run me. And to answer your other question, my girls here haven't had a drink in ages and I think you'd be the perfect person to help them." "Yeah, about that, I would love to help, but I don't associate with pit dogs like you." With that he continued to walk to camp. The man kept grinning and said "That's ok, we don't blame you for being scared little baby, do we ladies?" the kid stopped and dropped his back pack on the ground while the four women started cackling and howling with laughter. "Right master, we don't judge. The kid probably peed on himself after he saw us. Bet that's why he's runnin to the centaur. He's gonna go "'oh please Chiron I saw five scary vampires outside camp and wet my diaper, please change me.'" By now, the kid was completely red faced and looked ready to kill. "I sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What did you just call me?" the vampires laughed even louder. "Oh look, I think we've upset him. You heard us; we called you a big baby. Whacha gonna do about it, huh? You gonna cry? You gonna run crying to Chiron like the baby you are?" the bald vampire said in between laughs. "I give him five seconds befo-"she didn't get to finish that sentence because a katana handle sprouted from her forehead. Her friends stared in horror as she melted into a pile of monster dust. They turn to face the kid who was smirking. "What's the matter? You were real talkative a second ago." No one hurt's my girls but me, get'em ladies!" the women surrounded the boy, drooling ate the thought of killing him. "We're gonna make you pay for what you did to our sister." One lunged at him, but he dodged, grabbed her by the neck, and crushed her throat with a horrifying crunch. The last two began to back off, but he pointed at both of them and they froze in their place. "Where do you think you're going? You wanted my attention, well now you have it." He snapped his fingers and his sword flew back to hand. He slashed through them like they were nothing and they disintegrated.
The boy looked around for the last vampire, but he was gone. "Guess he ran off." The kid put his sword back in his backpack then turned to walk to camp again, when a black blur knocked him flat on his butt. The vampire had come out of nowhere. He picked the kid up by his neck and bared his fangs. "You killed my girls! Now how's gonna service me?! A guy has needs you know!" he tightened his grip around the boy's neck, making him gasp. Then he got a mischievous grin on his face. "I have an idea. Normally I'm not a fan of guys, but since you put my girls out of commission for a while I'll just replace them with you." The boy's eyes widened in fear and he tried to struggle out of the vampire's grip. The vampire moved his hand lower on the boy's neck and then sank his fangs into it. The boy let out a pained gasp and he began to struggle even harder, kicking and wriggling out of the vampire's firm grip. Lucky for him, he happened to accidently kick Mr. tall, dark, and pervy in the soft spot. The vampire screamed and dropped the kid, who grabbed his backpack and staggered away clutching his bleeding neck. The vampire got back up with murder in his eyes. He pounced on the boy, who turned around just in time. The boy was struggling as hard as he could but he didn't have much energy left. "You're mine now, baby boy." The boy must've hated being called a baby because he was fighting much harder. "I told you NOT TO CALL ME THAT!" his palms glowed blue and flames the color of sapphires shot from his hands. The vampire howled as his body was engulfed by fire. A few seconds later, the flames died down leaving his charred body standing there, which crumbled into a pile of ash.
Sticking out of the ash pile was the vampire's amulet. His cat jumped out of his jacket, got the amulet, and brought it back to him. After stuffing it in his pocket he grabbed his backpack, again, and walked to camp, again. But his steps were slow and his breathing was uneven, he'd lost too much blood and it seemed like he wouldn't make it. With some extra effort, he got past the camp boundary. He smiled slightly, then his eyes glazed over and he collapsed. Some campers rushed to help him. One tried to stop the bleeding and two others carried him to the infirmary. As he was carried away my dream faded and went black.
I was a worried about the kid in my dream so I went to the big house to see him, but when I got there he nowhere to be found. I asked Chiron if anyone new had come to camp today, but he shook his head and said no. I was so confused. Was this actually just a dream this time? Did this kid even exist? Something was wrong. I couldn't quite place it, but something just didn't feel right. That dream seemed too real. The kid had to exist, he just had to. Worrying won't help now though. If he's not here, he's not here. There's nothing I can do right now.
I spent the rest of the day doing my normal activities; sparing with Clarisse, giving pegasus riding lessons, etc. later, Annabeth and I were going over strategies. Today was Saturday; the weekly capture the flag game was in six days and we wanted to be ready because the Hunters of Artemis were coming. We were determined to finally beat them. "We should get Connor and Travis to set up some traps with Leo along the creek. That should slow the Hunters down." "That might work if we could get Leo out of Bunker 9" I said. People barely saw Leo now. Ever since the war ended he's been holed up in there, muttering something about keeping a promise. "You're right. Maybe if we-"Annabeth was interrupted by the sound of Peleus whimpering. I looked up and making his way into camp was the exact same kid from my dream.
"Annabeth, go get help. That kid's hurt" she nodded and left. I knew just how serious his wound so I went to do help him however I could. I got to him just as he fainted and placed my hands on the holes in his neck to stop the bleeding. His neck was covered in blood and he was very pale. Luckily Annabeth had made it back right then with two other campers. Together we carried the unconscious boy to the big house.
Over the next week, Annabeth, Argus, and I took turns watching over the new kid to make sure there was nothing wrong. We weren't the only ones watching him though. His cat hadn't left his side since he had been brought here. He hissed and bit anyone who got too close to the boy. Right now he was asleep on his owner's stomach, still unwilling to leave. Today was my day to watch him. Now that he wasn't dying he looked peaceful, like this was a bad dream and it'd all be over when he woke up. I also had a lot of questions for him, like where he learned to fight, where did he get a real katana, and how did he get to be so fast. From the looks of him I'd guess he was a son of Poseidon, but he looks about the same age as me, maybe a year younger, so that would mean that my father had two affairs at the around the same time. I don't think he would've risked it; he wasn't stupid enough to have multiple children while he was under the oath. No, the kid was probably Hephestus', judging by how he summoned that fire. A soft groan brought me out of my thoughts. I looked over to see the kid's eyes fluttering open. He sat up and grabbed his head. "Gods my head is killing me." He had a slight British accent. His cat sat up and started nuzzling and licking the boy's face like there was no tomorrow. "Hey Snow. Were you worried about me?"
"Hey, are you feeling any better?" I asked. He looked at me and cocked his head to the side. "A little. Um, I don't mean to be rude but, who are you?" "I'm Percy, Percy Jackson." He crossed his legs Indian style and shook my hand. "Nice to meet you Hun. My name is Leonidas Victori, but everyone calls me Leo. And this is Snowbell." He said gesturing to the cat.
"Ok, so where are you from Leo?" "California. Had a pretty good thing going there, until monsters started attacking more often. Then my step-dad insisted I come here." "Wait, your step-dad wanted you to come here?" "Yeah, see, my step-dad and his sister are Hephaestus kids, they made my sword. My step-dad used to tell me stories about the gods and this place when I was younger. Taught me how to fight too. But the attacks got so bad that he and my mom thought I'd be safer at camp, but so far it's just been a real pain in the neck, literally." I couldn't help but laugh. "Some vampire had been following ever since I left home. We'd fight and I'd kill him. He must reform fast, because he would always find me a week later. I think the pervert was stalking me. Hopefully this time he'll stay dead for a while."
Leo rubbed the bandages on his neck. "These bandages are so uncomfortable." He took them off and tossed them to the side before I could stop him. His wound had healed some, but it hadn't closed all the way. "You shouldn't do that" He pulled a small glass vial filled with what looked like glowing SunnyD, from his backpack, "Relax Percy, I know what I'm doing." Leo uncorked the vial and downed it like it was a whisky shot. Instantly the holes on his neck closed and faded away, like there was nothing ever there. "What was that?" "Healing potion. My mom made it. She's a pretty good alchemist" Leo said. "So, now that I'm all healed up, you mind showing me around? I'd love a tour of camp." "Um, ok." "Great! Let's get going." "Before we leave, is there anything else I should know about you?" He blushed and said "Uh yeah. My mom is a witch." "That's not nice dude. Everyone has problems with their parents, but you shouldn't bad mouth her." "No, I mean she is literally a witch. Like pointy hat, broomstick, black cat, the whole nine." "Oh" "and one more thing, I'm gay."
I was a little shocked. I really didn't know what to say. I'd only ever had someone say this to me once before, when Nico came out to the camp and I hadn't said much during that conversation. "You're what?" "G-A-Y, gay. I like men. Do you have a problem with that?" He was really nonchalant about it, like he didn't care what anyone thought of him. I put my hand on is shoulder. "Leo, I don't care if you're gay or straight. One of my best friends is gay. It doesn't bother me one bit" "You mean that?" he asked. "Absolutely." "Thanks Percy." "Don't mention it. You ready to leave?" "Yeah" He stood up then lost his balance, but I caught him before he face planted. "You ok?" he blushed and looked and looked away. "I-I'm fine, just a little light headed. Now, I believe you have a tour to give."
I showed Leo around as promised. It was fun. We became instant friends. We joked around and he got to admire the camp. He really liked the arena and the forges. It was hot today, so some of the guys were shirtless. I caught Leo staring at them, but he played it off saying "I've never seen someone work in a forge before. My step-dad would always shoo me away whenever he was working. Told me it was too dangerous to be around." I nodded and let it go, but I could tell he was lying. When we got to the stables his eyes lit up like a kid's on Christmas. "This is where we keep the pegasi. If you're good I'll even give you a riding lesson." I teased. "Oh, you don't have to. I already know how to ride a pegasus. Which reminds me, can I keep my horse here?" "You have a horse?" "Yep, how do you think I got here?" Leo whistled and the air got colder. I heard the sound of hoof beats and a black pegasus appeared. It was identical to Blackjack except a little smaller and it had blue eyes. "Percy meet Shadowmere, Shadowmere meet Percy." She bowed to me then nuzzled Leo. "I hear you are the one that helped save me friend, you have my gratitude Percy." "You're welcome, but it wasn't just me. I had help from my friends." "If you say so. If you don't mind, I'd like to stay here. Have to make sure this one stays out of trouble." "You're welcome to stay as long as you want." Shadowmere nuzzled Leo one more time before she trotted into the stables and we continued the tour.
"Well you are just full of surprises, aren't you?" I laughed. "Yep, and I like it that way. Makes me seem mysterious." He said, wiggling his eyebrows "So how did you two meet?" "My mom and dad got her for me when we were both babies. We grew up together. This might sound weird, but we're like siblings and there is nothing we wouldn't do for each other." "I don't think it's weird at all. Most of my siblings actually are horses." "Ha ha, really? That must make family reunions very awkward." "You don't know the half of it. Hey, if you don't mind me asking, why did you freak out when that vampire called you a baby?" Leo blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, you saw that huh? Well it bothered me because it brought back some painful school memories. See I used to be really short, scrawny, weak, and I would cry a lot. Bullies would tease me, beat me up, and call me a baby constantly. So it really upsets me when some calls me a baby." My face felt hot. If there's one thing I can't stand, its bullies. "That's horrible! No one should ever be treated like that." "It got better eventually. I stood up for myself once and actually fought back." "Did you win?" "Oh gods no. Got my scrawny butt kicked into next week." "I'm sorry to hear that. " Don't be. After that they stopped. My dad had this old saying "' Throw an elbow on TV once and you'll never have to do it again, if you stand up for yourself they won't bother you anymore.'" At the time I thought it was stupid and it wouldn't work. I never would've imagined he was right. Now let's get moving. I want to finish this little show around before dinner."
As we made our way to the beach we got to know each other a little more. We had a lot in common. The same favorite color, same favorite sports, and a lot of other stuff. "When's you birthday Percy?" "August 18th" "What year?" "1993" "I'm 94." That made me certain we weren't brothers. There's no way dad would have risked having two affairs within a year of each other.
We ended the tour at the Hermes cabin. "Thanks for the tour Percy. I had fun." "Me too." Well I'm going to get a bunk, and find a place to hide my stuff. My dad told stories about the Hermes cabin and how your stuff will mysteriously disappear if you don't watch it." "Alright, I'll see you at dinner. Make sure you're ready. Its capture the flag night and we want to actually beat the Hunters this time." We waved goodbye. Leo went inside the Hermes cabin and I went to mine.
On my way, I was tackled by a silver blur. "Long time no see, kelp head." It was my favorite daughter of Zeus, Thalia "Hey pinecone face. When did you get here?" bout ten minutes ago, where've you been?" "Showing a new camper around. You ready for tonight?" "Ready to kick your butt again." "We'll see about that. I have a secret weapon this time." "Really? What is it?" "Nice try pinecone face, I'm not that dumb. If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret." "Can't blame me for trying. Still, it doesn't matter if you have a secret weapon or not. The Hunters have never lost a game and we won't start now." "Oh really?" "Really" "Ok. Care to put your money where your mouth is?" "What did you have in mind?"
"If the Hunters lose, which they will, you have to let the Aphrodite cabin give you a makeover and dress you up like a Barbie doll." "And when you lose, you have to do whatever the Hunters and I say until we leave." "Like a slave?" "I was thinking more like a butler, but slave works too." "Ok Thals, you got yourself a deal." "Great! See you tonight." And with that, Thalia walked away.
Thalia thinks she has this game in the bag, but I've got Leo. Both Leos. While new Leo was knocked out Annabeth had convinced first Leo to come out of hiding for a little while. He was always locked up; a little fresh air would do him good and unlike everyone else, new Leo was fast enough to keep up with the Hunters. And I had a feeling his fire tricks would come in handy. With my trap maker and my newest best friend, Thalia won't know what hit her.
Not long after I got back to my cabin, the dinner conch sounded. As usual, we filed in and sat at our respective tables. The other tables were pretty full. Annabeth as talking with her siblings, Thalia was laughing with the Hunters. Heck, even new Leo was joking around with the Hermes kids like he'd known him forever. And as usual, I was alone at mine. It was days like this that made me really miss Tyson. Seeing everyone having fun with their brothers and sisters, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous sometimes. Even though it was unlikely, there was still a little part of me that hoped Leo was my brother. Unfortunately that was impossible. I know that most of the male gods think with their little friend and not their head, but I doubt my dad was stupid enough to have two kids during the oath. Zeus was that stupid but not Poseidon, right?
When the food was served, everyone got up to make an offering to their parent. I made mine to all the gods, minor and major. When we were finished eating, Chiron stood up. "Heroes! As you all know, tonight is Capture the Flag!" The dinning pavilion erupted in cheers "The teams will be the Hunters versus the campers. You all know the rules. All items are allowed; the creek is the boundary line; the entire forest is fair game; flags must be prominently displayed and can have no more than two guards; guards are not allowed within ten yards of the flag; prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged; and absolutely no killing or maiming." He said that last rule directly to the Hunters. "As always I will be serving as referee and field medic. Go luck and may the best team win." When Chiron was finished everyone left to get ready.
Leo was talking with Connor and Travis, probably about pranks, when he had the misfortune of bumping into to Phoebe and accidently knocked her down. "Oops, my bad. You alright Hun?" he offered his hand to help her up but she smacked it away. "I don't need a boy's help!" she said boy's as if it was the worst word she could think of. Phoebe got off the ground by herself. "Next time watch where you're going, you stupid boy." "Look Hun, I said I was sorry and I tried to help you up, so do me a favor and lose the tude." "You tried to help!? Please, you probably knocked me over on purpose! I bet you thought I'd fall head over heels for you. Didn't you!?" there was a small crowd around them now. Leo stood there for a second then he started laughing. It started as a small chuckle then quickly changed into full blown laughing. Phoebe was furious. "What's so funny!?" Leo calmed down and put his hand on his hip. "The stupidity of this dull and pointless conversation. First of all, your logic, or lack thereof. I accidently knock you down, I apologize, I offer to help up, and you think it's all some convoluted scheme to get you to fall in love with me? Do you even realize how stupid that sounds? And second, I'm gay Hun and even if I wasn't, there is now way in hell I would be attracted to you. Granted you are a pretty young woman, but you have a hideous attitude. It makes you seem like a beast to the point where all anyone will see is that inner monster that not even women will want to be around." Phoebe opened her mouth to speak but Leo cut her off. "Shut the fuck up. You don't get to talk till I say you can talk. You Hunters make me sick. You preach all this man hating bullshit when you're just as bad, if not worse. You think that some random guy whom you've never even met is interested in you? Why? Because you're just that attractive that every man wants you? No, you think like that because you're conceded and you'll use any excuse to put yourself above someone else. Well you know what? You're beneath me. You're beneath everyone at this camp. You are nothing. No, you are less than nothing. No self-respecting woman would ever want to join you unless they wanted to turn into a selfish, sexist, conceded, hypocritical, bitch. You know what; this conversation is over because someone like you is not even worth my time." Phoebe just stood there while Leo walked away with Connor and Travis and, not so surprisingly, some Aphrodite kids hot on his heels.
Most people were in shock. No one, especially not a boy, ever talked to one of the Hunters like that, not unless they wanted to become a human pin cushion. Everyone stared at Phoebe expecting her to go after him. She was stiff as a board. Then she did something we never thought we'd see a Hunter do. She fell to her knees and broke down crying. She went from a stubborn Hunter to a trembling, crying mess. The other Hunters huddled around her. "Phoebe, don't listen to him." "Yeah, what does he know?" "He's just a stupid boy." Phoebe wasn't listening. She just kept holding herself muttering "I'm sorry". Thalia helped her up and led her back to their cabin. Before she left she said "Alright girls, get ready. We'll make that boy pay in capture the flag." With evil grins on their faces, they marched into the forest.
Now I'm not going to say Phoebe deserved a chewing out that harsh, but she had it coming. I'm gonna be honest, I don't like the Hunters. I don't hate them like most of the other campers but I still can't stand them most of the time. Sure I love Thalia like a sister, I respected Zoe, and I respect Artemis, but I find their views of the world to be very flawed. I know most of them have had rough lives, but it's like they use that as an excuse to be jerks to everyone. Not to mention I haven't felt right about them ever since they convinced Nico's Sister, Bianca, to leave him by himself and join the Hunt. If Thalia, Annabeth, Grover and I hadn't been there, I'm sure they would've been perfectly fine with leaving him all alone and that just not right.
Leo's little stunt did manage to infuriate the hunters, so they'll be reckless and sloppy. However, this does change the battle plan a little. Originally we were gonna send him with our fastest campers to get the flag, but now the Hunters will be after him, he'd never even get close to it. This could be good for us though. I have a plan. It's risky, but it just might work.
