Hello!
I'm sorry for such a late update! Hopefully I'll be able to get back on track with all my writing once I'm off of school for the holidays. I was supposed to update YESTERDAY but I'm running late. Sorry. And I'm also sorry if you hate this chapter.
So, yeah, it's Halloween in this chapter, not that that detail is very significant to the story.
WHAT IS IMPORTANT is
I need some monster ideas, if you would like to help me with that ;) . I'd like to mention that some of the characters will not be portrayed in the same way as they are in greek mythology or the PJO series. I will be altering and merging some of the characters from Frozen or ROTG with the gods for plot purposes or to make nonexistent roles. So some of the Gods and Goddesses I use will NOT have the same descriptions or personalities as they do in the original greek literature.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything
Chapter 4- Never Ending Word
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If there is anything I can give motals credit for, it's their food. I speared a piece of my chocolate chip pancakes and nearly moaned and swallowed my whole plate. The chips melted pleasantly in my mouth, and I chewed every bite appreciatively. Meals with the hunt were tough, tasteless- the people even more so. I had always suggested getting salt, pepper... anything to make whatever sad animal they had caught a little more edible or at least to not to overcook it so it would be somewhat tender, but I had always gotten the same response: a bitter remark and,
"We eat for survival, not for taste. Why should we take pleasure in consuming such a noble creature?"
They were eating a rabbit. Yeah, I get it- respect for nature and stuff like that but I mean, they need to learn to live a little.
Hiccup and his party led Flynn and I to their temporary dorm after breakfast, where we stayed and went over our, or their, plan on finding the demigods and somehow befriending them, bringing them to camp, and doing all that within the same week without coming off as creepy... or, you know, kidnapping was a second option. They all had their own ideas. Bunny had suggested shoving them in a sack and flying them to Chiron on Toothless' back. Hiccup and Hans wanted to extend their stay at the school to study them once they found them and gained their trust. ("No bloody way. Waitin' too long for such powerful half-bloods is never a good idea.") They continued back and forth while I sat idly by on their musty old mattresses, twirling snowflakes between my fingertips.
For such a cool looking school I had expected more out their dorms. They weren't ugly, just ordinary four white walls and two bunk beds and two desks, like they wanted to remind you that you were here to learn, not to have fun. I admit that the room had a better ambiance than some of the cabins at camp, but one of the corners reeked suspiciously of weed. All of us had dumped our bags onto the floor, having no need to make ourselves at home. We wouldn't be here for long.
"How do you even know if they're around? How are we going to find two girls out hundreds of people?" I asked.
"Satyrs have a strong sense of smell. They can sniff out monsters and other godly blood, sometimes miles away."
"Gross." It was a little sad how little I knew of what was supposed to be my culture and history. Some of the most common creatures, I was clueless about.
"Shut your trap, you bloody show pony."
Begrudgingly, all decided that they would find the kids first and choose what to do from there, and we headed out to the football game. I had been surprised to pass by many students who had changed into odd outfits. Many girls looked like they were happy to be parading in uncomfortably themed undergarments or rather scandalous, short dresses. Some guys caked paint and masks onto their faces to distort their features into gruesome, ghoulish expressions.
"Hey." Hiccup blinked, like it had just dawned on him that "It's Halloween."
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Even if I don't remember my past life, I had some prior knowledge on the mortal world, so I knew what football was. What I was watching was not football.
I was baffled by the odd shape they brought out to the field. Last I checked, balls were round. And their equipment was much too heavy for just kicking - what were a few bruises? Why were they so padded and guarded? The whistle blew, the game begun, and my jaw dropped as the stampede of men trampled over each other in such a mess that I even lost track of the ball. I looked at Hiccup in disbelief, and he gave me a crooked smile. Eugene chuckled and patted my back.
"Jack, welcome to american football."
"This is..."
Not football.
"Wonderous!" They all looked amused. Hans furrowed his brow. "Ah, I think you mean awesome."
Eugene cackled again, "Come on, old man, keep up with the ages!"
I waved them off and shrugged, because I didn't have time to conform to a society or language that changes so often, and watched the game with new vigor while Hiccup explained the rules to me. I couldn't care less as the man running with the "ball" went down. I didn't know if it was the right team- I just gave a gleeful whoop.
"You know we're losing, right?" Bunny, or who I thought was Bunny, said next to me. I was going to return with a retort, but instead of turning to see the satyr's leaf green eyes and blue hair, I met with brown eyes and dark hair. I looked around, confused as to where my group could've disappeared to within the last five seconds. I couldn't see them anywhere. The guy who spoke to me gave me an odd look, and decided to leave me alone. I was suddenly aware of how loud and crowded the stadium had gotten, and the smell of sweaty teens and hot dogs overwhelmed me.
They so totally ditched me.
In my search I didn't even realize I was moving, trying to peer over heads without using my powers to lift myself off the ground by accident. Too preoccupied about their whereabouts, I found myself crashing into someone, and falling to the ground. A high-pitched yelp reached my ears, and a girl with red curls and a (thankfully) emptied nacho tray fallen over her forehead went sprawling in front of me. She plucked the cardboard off of her brow and whined, glaring up at me with sharp teal eyes, "Hey!"
"Sorry." I muttered, and helped her up. Her freckled face turned pink as she took my offered hand, and she smoothed out her puffy pink dress- probably wearing another one of those costumes, as Hiccup had informed me, that people wear on Halloween. She cleared her throat and straightened her crown, which I was surprised I even missed because the thing towered up on her head.
"No, no! It's probably my fault- You're like the second guy I've bumped into today. Sorry, I get really... pumped during games." I nodded, forcing a smile. I was going to move past her, but the ginger kept talking. "I mean, you're lucky it was just me. If it had been my sister it would've been just... yeesh!"
No need to explain it. I grumped to myself, just wanting to find Hiccup. "So anyway, What's up?"
I quirked a brow, not understanding her question. What was up? I was stupid enough to actually check. "Uh, the sky?"
I could tell that that wasn't the answer she was expecting because she faked a laugh and pulled her pink, glittery lips into a strained smile. "Oh, you're funny."
"...Ok. I'm kind of lost, would you please-"
"You can sit with my sister and I!"
"Well I'm actually looking for my friends. A short guy with brown hair, a guy with blue hair, and a guy with a blue vest and a white shirt, and a guy with gelled red hair?"
"Actually, yeah! What's his name?"
She didn't tell me which one she was asking for, or really let me answer- grabbing my arm and pulling me across the bleachers, stepping on complaining people's feet the whole way. Her grip on my blue sleeve was firm, as though to tell me that there was no way out of this. It was really just my luck, that out of anyone that I could have bumped into tonight, it had to be a girl with worse social skills than my own, and I had lived in forests for the past few centuries. "Uh, H-Hiccup, Flynn, Edmund, and Ha-"
"Hans?" She said excitedly. Anna's bubbly dress bounced around her hips as she whirled around to beam at me. I nodded slowly, confused, "You know him?"
"Yeah, he was the other guy I bumped into. What a co-inka-dink, huh?" A co-ink-a-what?
She stopped yanking my shoulder out of my socket when we met up with a girl at the bleachers making small talk with Hans. His skin looked paler under the stadium lights, and he appeared to be distressed. I was even surprised to see that one strand had come out of place in his normally gelled tight hair. He stood to greet me with a hint of relief. "Jack, thank gods, I lost Hiccup and Bunny. I met Anna, though."
The copper haired male flashed a grateful smile towards Anna, who blushed, making her freckles stand out, and gushed, "It's no problem."
"Hi. I'm Elsa." Someone- the girl next to Hans- interrupted. I sized her up. Elsa had a shock of white-blonde hair, topped with a large, pointed hat with a wide rim that shadowed part of her face. Her legs seemed miles long and smooth despite that she had painted over her skin with green for the occasion, and her lips with red. I couldn't see much from her thick black robes, her costume. Her nose had the same point as her sister, and I could see the slight family resemblance through the sharp curves of their high cheekbones and cat-like eyes. But unlike Anna's, her irises were pools of deep blue, bluer than my own. A dazzling blue rimmed with thick lashes. Not the point.
"Hi. I'm Jack Frost."
"Nice to meet you." She smiled sweetly with a polite hand out. I shook her hand, and almost shot back away in surprise at the tingles that her hand had sent up my arm. I'm not talking about that sappy, romantic "spark" people feel when they meet a pretty girl in books. I mean I felt the same spark that I had when I got my staff from Dryope back at camp. But Elsa was pretty, beautiful actually, even with the green skin. But that was only another reason to be careful, because beautiful girls in the Greek world always turned out to be dangerous ancient deities or monsters like empusai. I frowned at Elsa, cautious. "So, do you play hockey?"
"Huh? Why?"
"You're holding a hockey stick?" She laughed nervously. I looked down at my hands, my right hand empty and my left with my staff. A hockey stick, is that what the mist disguised it as? I went with it anyway, nodding along.
"That's kind of funny. You, know because Jack Frost, like the winter spirit?'
"What?" I was still dazed. My brain was fried and my arm prickled, shoulder still aching from when Anna pulled me.
"You know, Jack Frost nipping at your nose." When I shook my head, she gave up, offering me a stiff smile before returning to her conversation with Hans. I tuned out all of their voices, trying to get my head together and act normal but... what was that shock? I inwardly shook myself, trying to get over it.
"Oh, well Hans and I actually need to go right now." I gave him a pointed look and a hard nudge, which I have to admit, might've been a little unnecessary, but I was annoyed and confused and overall just grumpy. He nodded, and said goodbye to Anna and Elsa. Anna deflated, and pouted, disappointed. As for Elsa...
We locked eyes, that same static bouncing around my head and down my spine. She looked away first.
"Oh, well hopefully we'll see you guys around sometime!" Anna called to our retreating backs. I took a backwards glance at Elsa, shivers instantly going up my spine.
I wouldn't count on it.
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Any excitement I had left for the game quickly dissolved with the awkward silence we had fallen into while we searched for Bunny and Hiccup. As I've said before, I didn't know much about Hans, just that he was a ladies man and strangely polite - strangely because I knew for a fact that, maybe except for Hiccup, most guys sucked. He was smooth, a smooth that nobody needed to be unless they trying to fool someone. Hans fit the exact description that most of the huntresses had described before "the filthy snakes showed their true colors." It wouldn't be just to use that against him, though. He was probably- sort of - maybe a good guy. He was a little sketchy, so what?
"They were nice." Hans tried.
I clucked my tongue. Anna had too much energy for me to handle, but was sweet and cheerful, the kind of person the world needed more of. Elsa, on the other hand, seemed closed off, controlled. Compared to Anna, she was calm, cool, collected and if there was one word I could use to describe her, it would be stiff. "Anna was spritely."
Hans' baritone voice chuckled. "She said I was gorgeous."
I feigned hurt, "And not me? What, is she blind?"
"Jack! Hans!" I turned at the familiar voices, honestly more excited about being saved from the discomfort that was Hans than seeing our missing friends. When they approached, Bunny's face contorted into an unreadable expression, nose wrinkling and thin lips tugging into a frown. Hiccup asked where we were.
"Wait, Frosty, you smell... different." He came a closer than I was comfortable with. I sputter, because I don't even know what to say to that. "Are you... sniffing me? Get off!"
For some reason, no one else was weirded out by this.
"Yeah. You smell like..." He took another deep whiff and his eyes widened, "A demigod!"
"Is that a good thing?" I scoffed. "I'm standing next to like, three of them."
"In our case, it's a good thing. A very good thing- who were guys talking to last?"
"A girl and her sister. Anna and Elsa." I left out the part of me checking her out- no need to give him any blackmail material. Hiccup stared at Bunny and I curiously. I scrunched my nose in return.
"Two of them? Sisters? By blood?" He threw questions at me like rocks, all of them too fast and too many for me to react. "What did they look like? Did you get their numbers?"
"Um, one with red hair and the other with light blonde hair- like almost white." Bunny clapped me on the back, like he actually liked me for something, and gave an uncharacteristic cheer. Hiccup's eyes glinted eagerly. I still didn't know what he was talking about. "What? what about them?"
"They, I believe, are the reason we're here in the first place. You found the new half-bloods. I guess you really can do something useful, eh mate? Now when we find them, we can't leave them alone, so keep a close eye on them. We might know who- what they are, but it won't be long until they know, too."
He was talking too fast; I didn't understand. "Who?"
"The monsters. Don't you know anything, Frost?"
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I am not a god or a halfblood; I did not know what it was like to be hunted by monsters your whole life, I didn't have any half-brothers or sisters, I didn't know what being claimed meant. "What do you even mean by that? Do they brand their kids or something?"
Hans laughed, "Gods, Jack, no. Claiming is an event almost every demigod goes through when they become a certain age, or the second they get into camp. It's a sign, a symbol of belonging to a family, your godly parents. It's sacred."
"Well, what's the symbol?"
"You'll know it when you see it." If he was doing that for suspense, it annoyed me. I pondered on what he was saying, imagining what it might be like to live motherless or fatherless, and suddenly have one within one day, and a godly one, at that.
And then I remember the one particular group of half-bloods, ones with long and bitter faces who stay in a plain cabin and never pray or give their offerings into the fire during meals. "You said almost every demigod gets claimed. What happens to the ones who aren't?"
A scary, dark look shadowed Hans' features, "How would you feel if you found out that the gods, your parent wouldn't give you the time of day? Or if you were casted out, and treated like you don't even matter or exist by who could've been your own kin?"
I knew exactly how that felt.
"Hans! You're back!" Anna's high pitched voice made my mind ache even more, but she was nice, at least. "And Jack! Hi!"
"Anna-" Hans smiled at her, and I had to suppress at smirk at the way Anna's face lit up. Elsa got up from her seat and nodded to me in acknowledgment, and stood next to her sister. "Elsa, this is Hiccup, Bunny, and-"
"Hi." Flynn strolled up to the two teen girls with a coquettish smile and threw his hand out, which Elsa took with just like the tips of her fingers like he was contaminated, "How ya doin'? The name's Flynn Rider."
Elsa gave him a stern look, retracting her hand with narrowed eyes, a silent warning for him not to try anything. Her voice was curt and formal. "Hello Flynn. I'm Elsa."
Anna giggled, bringing two hands to cup her cheeks and beam at Hans, almost dreamily. "So what brought you guys back? Not that I don't want you here! But why?"
"We just wanted to hang out." Hans said, and she bought it entirely.
"Okay!" Anna plopped down and patted the seat to her right, expectant. The rest of us lined up along the row. Anna did most of the talking from there, but its was mostly directed towards Hans, who stayed next to her. Elsa didn't look too happy about that, and was forced to sit next to me. For a while we didn't day anything, just overhearing the two red-heads' chatter about dogs and sandwiches.
"What year are you in?"
I lied, "It's my third year at this school"
I noticed a crease between her dark eyebrows, and that's when I felt how squished together we were, my skin tingling where it brushed her own. There wasn't any room to move over, unless I wanted to sit on Flynn's lap. I found that the best solution was just to ignore the electricity beneath my skin and avoid looking at her. "Really? I haven't seen you around before."
"It's a big school."
"Elsa! There's a food truck outside of the stadium!" Anna called from down the row. For once I was thankful to hear her voice, anything to keep me from saying something stupid or embarrassing myself.
"Okay, so?"
"Buy me food, please?" Anna gave her one of the best puppy faces I've ever seen. "Pleeeease?"
Elsa couldn't stand a chance; she caved almost immediately. The blonde grumbled, "Fine. What do you want?"
"Fries and a soda?"
"I don't want to go alone."
Flynn suddenly piped up, "Jack can go with you."
I snapped my head towards him incredulously, and he kicked one of my shins in retalliation, giving me a hard look. I gave a subtle sigh, not wanting to offend her, and complied. We were supposed to be her keepers, after all. I climbed down the stadium with her, thankful that the chaos around us was too loud to talk much. When we got in line for the food truck, Elsa's eyes skimmed the menu. After being ignored for most of my life, it surprised me how much not talking or moving unnerved me.
"So what are you for hallows evening?"
"You mean Halloween?"
"Yeah."
She suddenly got shy. "I'm Elphaba."
I wasn't sure I heard her right. "I'm sorry, an elephant?"
She laughed and gasped in mock offense, "No, Elphaba, from Wicked. Do I look like an elephant to you?"
"No!" I didn't know what the hell "Wicked" was, but I found myself grinning. Elsa was next in line, and she stepped up with the same polite smile in place. I thought about which god or goddess might be her parent. There were always signature traits or qualities that could be recognized in each cabin, like the grey eyes and quick tongues of Athena, or the lithe or burly frames of Ares. I thought maybe she could be Athena's, but then remembered that she was directly related to Anna, who wouldn't quite fit there. My best guess for the two girls was Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. Maybe Demeter, goddess of harvest, if they were into gardening. I took another quick look at her button nose and big eyes.
Probably Aphrodite.
"Wow, your fangs are so realistic." My eyes finally came away from Elsa's face, and I fixed my eyes on the cashier, a beautiful young woman with brown eyes, thick curly hair and very sharp fangs. I tensed, not feeling quite right about her.
"Thanks!" the girl bubbled. She caught my eye, licked her lips, and smirked. Up until then, I never thought it was possible for me to get the chills. "Your order will be out in a few minutes. Can I get a name, please?"
"Elsa." The girl nodded, jotting that down, and she disappeared into the truck, but not before giving me one last leer.
I released a breath, feeling at ease when the cashier left. It was probably obvious, because Elsa smirked at me. "Well she was certainly friendly. Especially to you."
"She was creepy."
"You're kidding." Elsa gaped at me, appalled. "Even I was checking her out, and I'm straight."
"She's just..." I didn't know. Something about that girl was amiss. Maybe it was the fangs, but there were about fifty other teens wearing sharp, store-bought, plastic teeth.
But hers had looked so real.
"Elsa and Jack Frost? Fries and a soda?" Speak of the devil. The cashier came to us, sashaying her hips and heels clicking on the concrete. Why she was wearing red stilettos when she worked in a food truck, I'll never know. She smiled at us, and the way the light hit made her chocolate-brown eyes look blood-red, and gave her peach skin a sickly, dead glow. She handed Elsa the food, and when she pulled away, Elsa yelped next to me. The woman didn't seem to notice, because she walked off without another word.
I turned to Elsa, who hissed in pain. "What happened?"
"I think she just... scratched me." And even if Elsa didn't voice it, her face said, what the hell? because the four red lines across her wrist could not have been an accident. Elsa was baffled, but shook it off. While we walked back to our friends, I discovered one fact that had spooked me: the lady had called both of us, but I hadn't told her my name. I gulped, walking a little bit faster.
"The monsters. Don't you know anything, Frost?"
I was going to be sick. I grabbed Elsa's arm and started to sprint as fast as I could with her tripping behind me. She dropped her paper tray. "Hey! Jack, what are you-"
The food truck exploded behind us.
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"Release her, Khione." Adgar, or Apollo the sun god, spoke with refined, calm manner, but his patience wore thin. His face twisted into an expression akin to the anguish clearly presented along his doomed lover's high cheekbones, gritting his teeth at the sight of frost climbing over the young woman's limbs and the swell of her stomach. He had to get the ice goddess to spare his beloved Idun and the child before it was too late.
"Why?" The other entity before them snarled, deep blue eyes flashing wickedly. Her normally lovely fair skin was ghostly, thick curtains of black silk framing her face in wild fashion. "What does she, a lowly mortal, have that I do not?"
"Please," He begged, something a god should never do. The tempest that had started to gather around them mussed his copper hair, and Idun cried out and shivered at his knees, her dark locks turning limp and white. He gripped at the mortal woman's hand protectively, which only angered Khione further. "She is with child! Have you no mercy, Khione? Are you as cold as they say? Have the years frozen your heart?"
But the sun god knew the answer to his own questions- he always had. He had once had faith that his old friend could change, that she would see reason and happiness beyond her own needs and love, even if it could not be himself. But the snow queen was selfish, cruel, jealous, and he knew that he was foolish to ever think otherwise. Maybe it was his own fault that he broke her heart, but whoever's fault it was, it would not be reason enough to give up his family. He would never give up the life growing in his lover's womb. Defeated, he gave one last offer, "Please, I'll do anything. I shall even go with you. Just leave them be."
And in that moment, every flake in the air came to a stop, frozen in place. Idun's ice blue eyes glazed over and darted about in fear, curling at the God's feet with her arms wrapped possessively around her middle, like it could bring warmth and take the ice away from her dying babe. She croaked desperately, "Adgar."
The immortals ignored her, locked in each other's gazes. Khione grew a satisfied smirk at the family's distress, and Adgar briefly remembered a time when the ice sorceress had not looked at him with scorn, but with adoration. "I want the child."
His heart plummeted and he grew furious. "Never."
"Is she and her mother not in danger? Let me finish." Frost continued to creep up Idun's throat. "You know the rules of having a half-blood offspring. You cannot directly contact her, and you acknowledge her as your own at the blooming age of thirteen. You may keep her before then."
The god was confused, "I do not see your point."
"I want the child on her thirteenth, Apollo."
He nearly refused, but then Khione gave him a challenging smoulder, and the ice spread to Idun's cheeks, ice blue eyes rolling to the back of her head, and he cried, "As you wish. The child is yours when I claim her. I swear on the river styx!"
The sky thundered with the sacred oath, and Idun's eyes shot back open, looking to him in horror and unrestrained hysterics. "No Adgar! Not her! Not my baby!"
The chocolate lush returned to the woman's hair, and the storm dispersed. The ice along Idun's body and blood melted away in pink, lively flush, but she still felt frozen cold under the smug smirk of the harsh woman's blue, blue gaze and with the sickening loss of rights to her own child. The sun god's lover sobbed helplessly, and the cold goddess felt no pity.
"The deal is made. When the child officially becomes yours, she is mine."
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End Summer's splinter
in never ending word
bring back the winter
in claim never heard
with blasts of cold will come dark arts
three missing sons
four frozen hearts
a sword sacrifice
with third son's kiss
two winters shall perish
with what they had missed.
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.~later~.
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"How could you do this to me? To her?"
"I won't let her find you."
"We can't leave with a couple of guys we just met!"
"Why is she... green?"
"They were supposed to be claimed at least three years ago."
"Why would Chiron ever need to go to Costco?"
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So, uh, yeah. That's chapter four. I'm so sorry if it sucks or if it's too short and not much happens! SO sorry.
Anyways, this is one of my first fanfictions, so if yo would all be so kind...
Please note that I do not have much time to write, edit, and type- especially with school starting again. There will be many typos, chapters may be short, and it will not be my best work. Please go easy with the criticism!
Thank you!
-Mawhn
