Chapter 9 ~ Adrian

After dinner, Adrian went straight to Cabin 5 and brought his camping bag he had brought with him but never got a chance to unpack it. He rummaged through his bag, throwing stuff out and dumping it onto his bunk. Why did I bring so much stuff? Adrian complained in his mind, then laughed at his stupidity. He had basically thrown every single item that belonged to him into his rucksack, minus the stuff that couldn't fit. I guess I like it here more. He tossed out everything inside his bag out onto the floor and bed. The cabin was a mess right now.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the heavy wooden doors- and Trudy was there, smiling teasingly at him. Adrian beckoned her in, smiling back at her, and chucked his camping bag into an open wardrobe, banging it shut.

"Hey there," Trudy greeted walking into the Ares cabin, picking her way around the mess and tiptoeing around the food stains in the rough rug, "Need a little help?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"I can see that!" Trudy said, gingerly picking up a pair of boxers that was lying on the floor. Adrian blushed in embarrassment, and quickly grabbed it then stuffed it into an empty drawer.

"Gods, this room is a mess," Trudy and Adrian commented at the same time. They both looked at each other awkwardly, then laughed.

"Do you just want to step outside?" Adrian asked, gesturing towards the sandy beach view from his window, "We could take a walk."

"Why not?" Trudy shrugged and followed him out.

"So... how did the Aphrodite girls take it when Chiron told them?"

"They were a little shocked but I'm sure they got over it, at least I hope they did."

"Are they treating you well?

"Aw, you big, concerning guy! Yes, they are- because after all, they are my sisters. And they knew me before I told them, so you know and I'm not any different."

"Half sisters, technically." Adrian couldn't help but correct. Trudy nodded and took his hand. They started walking, feet in sync, to the campfire. They headed towards the ocean that lapped against the cold sand.

"So uh... there's some sort of dance and firework show thing in around a month, do you know about it?"

"Yeah...I've heard of it."

"Um, well. I was thinking that maybe, well, we could like... um."

"Spit it out, Adrian" Trudy laughed.

"Right. Well, wouldyouliketogotothedancewithme?" Adrian rushed, looking down.

"The dance... with you?" Trudy blushed, "Of course!"

"You will? Really, you will?" Adrian looked up, eyes wide in shock and delight.

"Yes, Adrian, of course I will." She said, excitedly jumping up and down with him. Adrian smiled at her and embraced her with a warm hug.

"Wow, Trudy. You are amazing" He whispered, pulling gently away from her to look at her eyes. They were an amazing swirl of colors, amber tinged with blues and greens, even turquoise. Somehow, he knew that was her true color, not just some charm or magical Aphrodite genes. Her hair was back to it's original blonde color with a hint of brown. He leaned his face down to hers and his lips were on hers. A lingering, fumbled moment, long enough to enjoy it. They sprang apart, both blushing furiously. The moon beamed down on them, reflecting off the white sand. Adrian couldn't look away once he met her eyes. He wrapped his arms around Trudy's slim waist. She did the same around his neck.

"Adrian, I-" Trudy blinked uncertainly.

"That was..." Adrian searched for the comfort of her eyes.

"That was amazing" Trudy whispered on his lips. "And unexpected."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that" He said, scratching his head.

"Don't be! I like surprises" Trudy smiled and kissed him once more. This kiss lasted longer than the previous, and was much more intense. This time it was Adrian who was surprised, but his lips softened and relaxed against hers. They pulled away slowly and looked at each other for a brief second and smiled, with both of their cheeks burning red.

"So," Trudy was fumbling for words, still blushing furiously. Adrian smiled and pressed a finger to her lips.

"Shh..." They sat down on the cooling sand under a tree, "For now, just enjoy the night."

Adrian sat up against a tree trunk with Trudy next to him, wrapping an arm around her waist as he grinned at her. Trudy smiled back in return, looking up at the moon which pulsed in the dark, velvety sky. Trudy rested her head onto Adrian's shoulder as Adrian leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

He drifted off to a light doze, aware of his surroundings, just to make sure they wouldn't get caught. But he soon grew tired and decided to get comfortable in the sand and let deep slumber claim him.

He was running through the woods, pounding behind a girl who was sprinting, trying to get away from whatever was behind him. He could hear the girl panting - she must've been running for quite a while. The girl would occasionally look back behind her with a frightened expression. Adrian looked behind him as well, prepared to be looking into the face of a horrid hag. But instead he saw nothing, just the trees closing in behind him. He looked towards the girl again, curious of what she was running away from, they reached a bottom of a cliff that looked pretty steep at the bottom. The brunette girl clambered up the cliff with difficulty, panting and sweating. Adrian climbed up after her. He tried to yell at her, question her on what she was running away from. He opened his mouth but all that came out was a deep snarl. The girl squealed and climbed up the cliff in hurry. Adrian caught hold of her ankle, unwilling to want to let go. The girl shook her leg, clearly hoping to shake his hand off. The girl kicked at Adrian's nose. He howled in pain - for few seconds, all Adrian could see were shapes and colors. Suddenly Adrian was full of rage, rage he had never felt before in his entire life. Adrian raced towards the clambering girl, and grabbed hold of her ankle once more and did something he would've never done, ever. He bit into the back of the girl's calf as she reached the edge of the cliff. The girl screamed in agony as he continued biting into her calf flesh. But the girl kicked at Adrian under the chin which snapped his head back and Adrian tumbled down the cliff side, smacking onto the ground face first.

Adrian woke up, panting and sweating. Trudy was still on his shoulder sleeping peacefully, smiling in her slumber. She stirred and flopped onto the sand, and instantly awoke. Adrian panicked and pretended to still be asleep against the tree bark. Trudy was shaking him awake. Adrian woke slowly and rubbed his eyes.

"What time is it?" Adrian groaned.

"I can see you're not a morning person. I don't know what time it is but we should get back to the cabins before people realize," Trudy said softly, standing up and brushing the sand off her legs. Adrian nodded and stood up too.

He quickly ran into the waves and stood there, so the waves could rinse the sand off his legs. But all of a sudden a boy, a little older than him, came up to the shore - His clothes were barely wet. Adrian gaped at him and the boy noticed The boy -obviously a son of Poseidon- made quick swift movement with his hand and a wave splashed onto Adrian's legs. Adrian nodded a quick thank you to the boy and the boy ran off.

"Ugh!" He grimaced, he realized that his shoes were wet from the water. Adrian trudged back over to Trudy who was still having trouble wiping off the sand of her body. "We should head back!"

"Of course." Trudy said, grabbing hold of Adrian's hand. They both started walking back towards the cabins. "I look like a mess - sandy skin, and my hair is a big tingly bush! Sometimes I hate being a daughter of Hephaestus as well."

"I think you look lovely!" Adrian complemented, stopping before reaching the cabins where they were unnoticeable. Adrian pulled Trudy in for another kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly. Trudy kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"You two are in so much trouble."

The couple instantly sprang apart and turned to face the person who spoke. She was in her pajamas - flannel pants and a worn out Hello Kitty t-shirt. Her ginger hair swept up into a high ponytail.

"Er...I'll go back to my cabin," Trudy said awkwardly giving Adrian a quick peck on the lips before running off. Adrian looked at Rosamynd, who was purposely looking away.

"Listen, Rosie, uh, can you not tell anyone about this? Please?" Adrian pleaded. Rosamynd hesitated, her hands behind her back looking down at her feet.

"Fine," Rosamynd gave in and sighed.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Adrian said relieved.

"See you at breakfast." Rosamynd grunted and stormed off. Adrian ran back to his cabin, quickly showered and got dressed into something decent that he thought would impress Trudy. He tried something new and tried to put gel in his hair, but concluded into his hair getting all sticky and spiky. He groaned and washed the gel out of his hair. He gave up soon enough and just sprayed deodorant on himself and walked out. He headed to the breakfast hall , keeping an eye out for Trudy and the rest of his friends.

On the way to breakfast, he thought about the dream he had last night about the girl and him. How he bit into her flesh, her cry of agony and the snarl. It couldn't have been real! I couldn't even imagine biting into someone's leg, I can barely bite into an apple. A demigod barged into his shoulder, interrupting his thoughts about the dream. He decided to shake it off and just have some breakfast. He spotted Lysandra far along the stoned path, holding Annie's hand and talking to her. He waved at her but she didn't see him. Next to her was a girl with a blank expression, reading a book as she walked. She was a new girl, and must have been a friend of Lysandra's. She had dark hair- tied up in a bun- and some sorts of tattoo's of all patterns and shapes upon her skin. Lysandra bent down to Annie's height and whispered something in her ear. Moments later, Annie let go of the Godling's hand and ran towards her brother, who was walking along with his friends. She and the new girl started walking towards the Big House. Adrian rushed over to them.

"Where are you going and who's this?" Adrian asked, gesturing at Lys' friend.

"That's rude." The new girl frowned at Adrian, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry, introduce yourself then!"

"I'm Vytoni Skia- Daughter of Hecate and Morpheus. I am -well, was- a Hunter of Artemis," She flickered a smile, as if she was tired of being so polite. "Oh- and I am the goddess of Weaponry and Symbolism... it might just explain all those runes on my skin. Don't worry - they're not tattoos."

"You're a godling too!?" Adrian remarked.

"Yes. Now who are you?"

"Me? I am Adrian. Adrian Belikov - God of Ares and Nemesis and Son of Balance!" Adrian said in a posh accent, messing up his titles. He puffed up his chest and tried to look proud and almighty.

"Don't you mean Son of Ares and Nemesis and God of Balance?" Lysandra corrected.

"What-?" Said Adrian, taken back surprise. "I said that."

"No," Vytoni said in a deadpan tone, reading her book as if the conversation was the most boring thing ever.

"Adrian, there you are!" Trudy's familiar voice rang out. He turned and Trudy ran over to him, and alongside her were Rosamynd and Elektra.

"Enryx, get over here! We found them!" Elektra yelled across the courtyard to Enryx who was kicking pebbles away and stepping on bugs. Everyone was gathered around, whispering among themselves. Adrian knew they were wondering who Vytoni was.

"So," Enryx started, looking nervously at the new girl. She does scare people. Its probably all those sharp stuff she carries. He could see her dagger sticking out of her pocket and -is that three?- swords hanging from her belt. Slung across her back was a quiver full of arrows. Threaded behind that was an ebony staff. Man, this girl is lethal. Wouldn't want to get on her bad side.

"Care to introduce us to each other?" Trudy smiled warmly at the newcomer, who returned a lifeless one. Ah, well. No harm in trying.

"Um, This is Vytoni, my half sister!" Lysandra gestured to Vytoni who looked up from reading her book. The gang said their welcomes and hello's, staring strangely at the new girl. "She's a godling as well!"

"Your shoelace is untied." Vytoni said blankly, looking at Enryx's shoes, "Tie it."

"What?" Enryx said, blinking furiously, then looked down, "Oh. Right." But the shoelaces were already in the midst of tying itself.

"You were too slow." Vytoni drawled slowly, "and I grew impatient."

"Wow, you use a bow and arrow too!" Elektra blurted out suddenly, interested in the new girl. Vytoni nodded and went back to her book.

"Oh," Adrian had a brainwave as he recollected who Vytoni's parents were and his dream, "Vyt. Can I call you Vyt? I need a small favor."

"No, you can't call me Vyt," Vyt -too late, its stuck - grimaced at the nickname, "And yeah. Shoot."

"Do you mind if we talk in private?" Adrian asked. The others looked on, weirded out by the sudden request. Vytoni shrugged, slipping her book into her bag. They headed out of hearing range from the others.

"What's this about? I haven't got all day," Vytoni sighed, crossing her arms.

"Well, uh." Adrian cleared his throat, suddenly aware of how strange the dream was, how weird it would sound, "Long story short, Last night I had a dream and-"

"Why are you telling me this? I haven't got any time for fairy tales."

"Because you're the daughter of Morpheus." He replied stiffly, ignoring the last statement. "Anyways, I dreamed about me and this girl. I was chasing her through a forest, and I don't know why she was afraid of me. She kept looking back at me, while I was chasing her and she had a worried expression. Then we came to the bottom of a cliff. The girl started climbing, so I followed, but then she tried to fight me. I gave this loud snarl, almost evil. And -this is the weird part- I bit her. I bit her in her calf. She kicked me off the cliff, and just when I fell, then woke up."

Vyt though for some time, which made Adrian starting to grow impatient, but she finally replied. "It's obvious you were not you in the dream. You must have been experiencing through someone else's view. And since you bit her, you snarled and she was scared of you- you were probably a monster - or whatever she was running from. Oh, and it probably happened. That girl? She's injured somewhere now." She looked him in the eye, searching for signs of hesitation, "Are you going to try and find her?"

"So, it was real? It can't be!"

"Its real, dimwit. Keep up."

Adrian stared at her, neither backing away, "And yes, I will try and find her. It is up to you on whether or not you follow."

"Is that a challenge?" Vytoni raised her eyebrows, and her eyes glimmered - the first sign of life in them since her met her- and she replied, "I will accompany you."

"Great! Let's go to tell the others," He paused to grimace " about, you know. Her." They went to the others, who were all keen on knowing what they were discussing about.

"Wait, are you gonna tell us what's going on or not?" Lysandra burst out, obviously eager to know. The others agreed and urged Adrian and Vyt to tell.

"Well, Vytoni and I," He saw Vytoni glare at the mention of her new nickname, but he ignored her and continued, " We have decided to go on a mission to save-"

He was interrupted by the hooves of the centaur. Chiron trotted out of the heavy Big House doors.

"Why are you all clumped outside of the Big House? And Adrian, a word, please." Adrian gulped as Lysandra started explaining urgently about Vytoni.

"Okay, Lysandra. I will talk to you and Vytoni in a second- just after I speak to Mr. Belikov." He motioned Adrian to follow him to another place, a place were they could not hear.

"Now, Adrian, I am deeply sorry that I was eavesdropping on your conversation with the your friends, but what mission are you talking about?"

"Well, I had a dream about a girl- and we need to save her, now!" Adrian said.

~END OF CHAPTER 9~