Silver Like the Moon
Nico spurred his mount, hoping to instill a sense of urgency into the beast. Gripping the leather reins tightly, he wrapped them around his hands and pulled back toward his body. The horse rose its head and looked at Nico, carrying a look of worry in its dark eyes. Nico whipped the reins once, trying to get the beast to move forward. All it did was prace its front hooves around nervously. Nico sighed and looked toward Will. He returned his gaze and shrugged, baring a oh well look on his face.
"He's nervous" Nico said, surveying the scene in front of him as he leaned forward and stroked the horse's mane. In front of them stood Camp Half-Blood, the cabins embedded into the landscape. Thalia's tree was next to them, it's long twisted branches reaching out toward the sky like crooked fingers illuminated in the full moon. Past the cabins stood the Big House. The attic window was dark, but the first floor windows cast out a dim yellow light onto the damp grass. However, Nico was more interested in what was on the right side of the Big House.
Silver tents. Twelve in all. Small fires blazed outside them, providing specs of light in the otherwise dark camp. Nico made out wolves, with silver fur that glistened in the fire, pacing around the camp, protecting their mistresses. Nico sighed and looked toward Will again. He handed him his holstered Stygian Iron sword that he had removed from his waist and slipped off the black leather gloves he had been wearing. He put both of them in his left hand and handed them to the man to his left, who went by the name of Chase. Chase was a son of Hermes who had taken up arms for Poseidon. He was a shorter man, standing around five foot eight, with short black hair cut in a buzz. He was a thin boy, and had just turned sixteen a few weeks ago. He wore light blue jeans and a Camp Half-Blood t shirt as an underlayer. On top of the regular clothing was a brown leather cuirass, the trident of Poseidon stitched roughly into the chestpiece. He wore no other armour, preferring to be lightweight. He carried no sword either. The only steel Chase bore was a small knife, with the imprint of a bear stitched into the black leather hilt. He had shown off the knife to the party earlier. Nico, Will and Jorah, the fourth and final member of their party, had admired the blade over a small fire while they shared Pepsi's and double stuffed Oreos.
"This was a gift from my mother. She's in the marines. I don't get to see her too often, but this is a cool knife" he had told them, twirling it around skillfully between his fingers.
He took Nico's gloves and put them in a black swiss army backpack that he had been carrying on his back. Will handed Nico back his sword, which Nico laced back around his waist, making sure the leather braids were tight enough.
"I don't like this" Chase said as he put the gloves in the backpack, eyes locked on the silver camp. "We're outnumbered. All of us are men. They don't like us".
"Hold your nerve Chase. My steel swings true, should we get into an… undesirable situation" Jorah jested back, pulling his steel out of his holster and showing off the blade. Jorah was a larger man, standing six foot three inches in all. He had brown hair that fell in chops over his matching brown eyes, which always held a look of bloodlust in their pupils. He himself was a son of Ares, and was always looking for a fight. Why he came along Nico had no idea. Nico had not wanted him along, but Will had convinced him otherwise.
"You can't trust the Hunters. You'll be happy to have him at your back when they attack us" Will had told Nico in the barracks while they had put on their armour and sharpened their swords.
"They won't attack us Solace" Nico had responded while strapping on his cuirass, annoyed by Will's stubbornness.
"Better safe than sorry though aye?" Will had said as he walked past Nico, one hand gripping his bow, the other clasped on Nico's shoulder. He had nodded at the boy in black and walked out of the tent to water their mounts. Nico had sighed and shaken his head while strapping his leather belt around his waist, making sure the holster for his sword was firmly attached.
"We're not looking for a fight Jorah" Nico said cooly, keeping his gaze on the Hunter's camp. He then turned his gaze toward Jorah, making eye contact with him. "You follow my lead, and no matter what they say, do not be the first one to attack. We don't need to give them another reason to hate us".
Jorah nodded in reply, though he didn't seem to happy about it. He spat to his right and spurred his mount forward a few steps. He turned back to Nico. "Well, are we moving or not?" he asked impatiently. Nico stared at the camp for a few more seconds, nodded and reached into his pack hanging from the side of his saddle. He pulled out a plain white flag and handed it to Will. Will, who was holding a long wooden pole in his right hand, attached the banner to the pole and held it high for the world to see.
Hopefully the banner of peace stays their hate Nico thought to himself. He gave his reins a hard whip. This time, his horse moved forward in a gallop. The other men followed as they passed through the magical barrier surrounding the camp. Nico felt the cool spring air blowing in his face as he raced down the hill. It cut through his hair and threw black strands of it across his eyes. Looking toward the camp, he saw an outline in the camp look towards them, then quickly rush inside the largest tent. Moments later, four figures exited the tent. As Nico approached, he saw the silver of their gear glistening in the moonlight. Each of them had a bow in hand with a quiver full of silver arrows slung across their backs, though none of them had an arrow notched. Nico noticed a few lights from different cabins flicker on and saw black silhouettes at the windows, pointing and whispering nervously to each other.
They were right on the camp's perimeter now. Nico heard the growling of the wolves as their party approached. Their horses whinnied nervously at the sight and sound of the silver furred canines. Nico stopped at the edge of the first tent, pulling the reins back and grimacing as his horse started to dance around in fear. He stroked and patted the beast's mane, trying to calm it down. The horse continued to whine but turned its ballad of fear into a slow dance. Nico dismounted from his steed and handed the reins to Will, who had held his right flank the entire descent.
"Jorah, stay here and keep the horses in line" Nico said as he checked his horse's saddle. "I need to be with you" Jorah responded curtly, to which Nico responded with a palm raised in the air in a stop talking motion. "I understand your fear swordsman, but you are the strongest one here".
"Which is why you need me to be in that camp with you!" Jorah responded angrily. Will and Chase dismounted, holding their reins up to Jorah for him to take. The wolves from the camp had slowly approached them and were now a mere fifteen feet away. They laid low to the ground, baring their fangs and growling, ready to attack. The horses continued to whine and dance, now with more intensity. Will and Chase struggled to hold onto their mounts, but Jorah kept a death iron grip on his reins, his focus on Nico.
"No godsdamnit! I need you to watch the horses Jorah! They're nervous as it is. You're the only one who can keep them subdued" Nico said, pointing toward the horses. Jorah made a sound something between a sigh and a growl, and with a "fine" he took the reins and guided the mounts away from the campline. Nico sighed and looked to Will and then Chase, making eye contact with both of them, exchanging looks of concern and weariness. Nico looked ahead to see the wolves still growling, saliva covered fangs glistening in the pale moonlight. The beasts started to slowly approach them, and Nico put his hand on the hilt of his sword. This only made the wolves growl louder. They continued to approach, six in all, bearing murderous looks in their eyes. Nico felt sweat trickling down his abdomen under his cuirass.
Damnit Nico, you only made them more angry.
The wolves were soon within ten feet of them. Nico was about to unsheathe his sword and prepare for combat when he read a loud whistle rip through the damp night air. The wolves' ears perked up and they turned their heads back toward the camp. They shot Nico and his men one final chorus of death stares and then started walking toward the center of the camp. Nico looked to Will uneasily and released his grip on the hilt of his sword. He started to walk into the camp, sidestepping to the left of a silver tent and then zigzagging past another. They walked slowly and carefully. As they made their way to the center of the camp, they began to see them. Hunters, aged anywhere from twelve to sixteen stood outside their tents, many of them bearing looks more dangerous than the ones the wolves had given Nico. He made sure Will has holding the peace banner in his hand, which he was, holding the pole high in the sky for the entirety of the camp to see, though it didn't give Nico much reassurance.
Chase was right. I underestimated their hate for men Nico thought nervously, though he didn't let his anxiety show. Or so he tried. He knew weakness here would only hurt their chances of successful negotiations, and more importantly, preventing the remaining campers from being dragged into the war. Nico continued to approach the center of the camp until he hit a small clearing. Here the four figures that he had seen earlier remained, though the wolves had returned to their sides. Nico didn't recognize any of the hunters except for one. The one who had been there the night his sister had joined their ranks.
Thalia.
She stood tall and proud like a commander would. She still had her spiky black hair and electric blue eyes. She was a menacing sight, but Nico continued to approach. He couldn't recall the last time he had seen her. The wolves began to growl once more, but Thalia snapped her fingers and they were silenced. Nico stopped a few feet away from them, Will and Chase flanking either side of him. Nico locked eyes with Thalia. Unlike the fellow hunters around her, her eyes weren't consumed with hate. They looked at each other for a few moments, trying to read each other's facial expressions.
"Hey Nico" Thalia carved into the silence, signaling that she had given up with trying to communicate through facial expressions.
"Hey Thalia" Nico responded. He shuffled his feet and looked around. A few hunters were staring at them from their various tents, angered by Nico's presence.
"I assume you're here to talk about the war?" Thalia asked.
"No. I'm here to talk about peace".
Thalia looked at her other hunters. There were a few raised eyebrows.
"And why should we talk to you, male?" One of the hunters said curtishly. She looked to be fourteen, with green eyes and long black hair. She was pretty, to be sure. Most hunters were.
"You should be more respectful when talking to a diplomatic envoy" Will shot back, making eye contact with the hunter with a hard gaze.
"You don't speak unless spoken to, male" another one of the hunters snarled. She looked to be a bit younger than the other. She had similarly long black hair, though it contrasted with a pair of brown eyes rather than green.
"I'll speak whenever I damn well please" Will responded cooly. Nico could see that all three of the hunters beside Thalia were clenching their bows so tightly that their knuckles had turned white.
"Enough! We didn't come here to throw insults at each other!" Nico said, raising his voice, though not quite shouting. "This is for the sake of the camp, not just us" he continued, making eye contact with Thalia. She nodded in response. "You're right. Come Nico" she said, beckoning toward the tent behind her.
Will stepped forward a foot. "We're going with him".
"No you're not" the green eyes hunter shot back.
"If you think I'm going to-"
"Will" Nico cut him off, grabbing his arm and looking him in the eyes. "I'll be fine". Will, in a manner that reminded Nico of Jorah, made a noise between a growl and a sigh and said "they're going to kill you".
"Thalia won't. She's my friend".
"No one in this camp is our friend". Will pulled away from Nico's grip and grabbed Chase by the arm and started walking toward the perimeter. Before he was out of sight he turned and pointed at the hunters.
"If I hear so much as an arrow drawn…" Will said, beckoning to the bow slung over his back. He stabbed the peace banner into the damp grass, letting the plain white flag sag to the side of the pole. There was no wind to glorify symbolism. Will and Chase marched out of the camp. Nico turned back and looked to Thalia. She nodded and looked to her hunters. They looked back, giving her uneasy looks. The brown eyes one even started to protest, saying "but", only to be cut off by a raised hand from Thalia. They nodded, clearly not happy about it. They shot Nico murderous looks and walked away, until it was just Nico and Thalia. She gave Nico a small smile and turned to walk into the tent. Nico followed wearily. He ducked under the tent flap and entered.
Nico saw a cozy fire dancing in the middle of the tent. The top of the tent was open as to let the smoke out. The whole thing was like a tepee. There were animal furs along the ground, mainly from deer, though it wasn't the flooring that had Nico uneasy. At the other end of the fire sat a girl that looked to be around sixteen. She had blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and sat with her legs crossed and palms on her knees. Nico felt a jolt of adrenaline go through his body.
It can't be… not here…
"Lady Artemis?" Nico asked quietly, still not processing that it was actually her.
"Nico DiAngelo" she responded without emotion. "It has been a while since we last met. Come and sit. We have much to discuss". Her eyes had been closed, but she now opened them, revealing a beautiful yet intimidating set of silver eyes. Silver like the pakra she was wearing. Silver like the wolves' fur. Silver like the moon.
