Painless
Tansy's Perspective:
I woke up in a soft king - size bed in a small bedroom. I sat up and immediately agony burned through my body. I yelped and fell back down onto the bed and pain shot through my body again.
" For now, I think it would be best if you remained still". I looked up and saw a pair of men in the doorway. One was in a wheelchair, and looked about 50, with long brown hair and a long curly brown beard. He smiled warmly at me. The man behind was about six feet tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Strangely, I also saw eyes on his hands and arms, as well as all over his face. I gawked at him.
Trying not to freak out, I focused on the man in the wheelchair, trying to ignore the guy behind him. " Where am I? Who are you people? What's wrong with my back?", I asked. The man held up his hand. I stared.
" Oh, sorry Miss Denton, just a habit. My name is Chiron and this is Argus". " How do you know my name? Why does that guy have eyes all over his body?", I asked. Chiron's smile faltered.
" Well, he was given those eyes by Hera, the Queen of Heaven...", Chiron began. " What? What do you mean Queen of Heaven? Heaven doesn't have a queen, only a king. Anyway isn't Hera a..."
Chiron peered concernedly at me. " How much do you remember Miss Denton?". I stared into space, memories flashing through my mind.
" I remember... a face made of green mist, a giant fox, and pain. Great, great pain". I turned towards Chiron, a horrified expression on my face. " What happened to me?".
Chiron winced. " Well, after the incident at your school, with the Teumessian Fox, you were impaled in the back with planks from a table. We brought you here as quick as we could, and our infirmarians did the best they could." He looked at me grimly.
" Why? What happened?". Chiron had a pained expression on his face.
" Well, when the planks stuck into your back, they chafed against your spine, causing severe nerve damage". I gawked at him. " You're saying I'm paralysed".
Chiron hurriedly shook his head. " No, no, no, your limbs are functioning perfectly well, but your tactile sense was deadened. You are incapable of feeling anything".
" WHAT? I'M AN EMOTIONLESS ROBOT NOW?", I yelled. Chiron's face turned an odd mixture of red and green as he shook his head. " No, that's not what I meant. I meant physical feelings, not emotions. You now have no sense of touch. I believe a possible side effect would be immunity to pain", he said, desperately trying to backtrack.
I frowned at him. " But my back hurts when I move. That's a physical sensation, isn't it?".
" That's because the bandages are soaked in a magical savlon. It restored your sense of touch, but only while in direct contact with your skin. In order to restore yourself completely, you have to apply it to your skin every 15 minutes". " Every 15 minutes", I exclaimed. I slumped back against the pillow.
Chiron sighed. " I'm sorry Tansy. I wish we could do more, but for now, that is the best we can do".
I sighed unhappily. The a question popped into my mind. I looked up. " How do you know my name, anyway?", I asked. Suddenly remembered something from history class.
" Wait, isn't Chiron the name of the centaur who trained all the Ancient Greek heroes?". Chiron smiled knowingly and wheeled his wheelchair around and out into the corridor without answering my question.
" Come, Miss Denton. I have a lot to show and tell you". I gaped at him. " How I am I supposed to move with these bandages on?". Chiron gestured to the right of the room. I looked over and saw another wheelchair, one I swear wasn't there a minute. I looked back at Chiron and he was smiling broadly. I looked pointedly at him. " I'm not sitting in that thing", I said stubbornly. " Oh, I'm afraid you'll have to, if you ever want to get out of this room". " What? You're making that up".
" Oh no, I'm not. Our camp director stated that you were not allowed to leave this room unless you were in a wheelchair", he said, trying and failing to keep a straight face. I looked derisively at him and gritted my teeth.
" Fine, I'll sit in the stupid chair, but I'm wheeling myself", I answered through clenched teeth. " Oh no, Argus will be more than happy to push you". He smiled brightly at me again and wheeled out of the room.
I glared after him. Argus came over and tried to scoop me out of the bed. I waved him off, rose unsteadily to my feet and promptly collapsed. Pushing my pride down, I let Argus pick me up and put me in the chair. He pushed me out of the bedroom following in Chiron's wake.
" So it turns out that I'm a son of Bia, the goddess of force. Isn't that so cool. Come on, admit it, you think it's cool". I nodded and smiled indulgingly at Grant, who hadn't stopped babbling out how cool being a half - blood is since I first saw him outside the Big House, what the campers call the blue mansion I was staying in.
" So, have you been claimed yet". I gave him a derisive look. " No, Grant, I have not been claimed. I have been stuck in bed for a month. I don't think my mom would have thought it a good idea to claim me while I was unconscious." Grant frowned, and then his face cracked into a huge grin.
" They have this really cool climbing wall here. It spews lava and rocks and it shakes like an earthquake", he said extremely enthusiastically. I smiled brightly at him, while thinking I wanted to strangle him right now. I hadn't exactly gotten over the fact that he threw himself out a window to try and get away from the giant fox and left me to pretty much die. Plus the fact that he hadn't two brain cells to rub together.
Grant was in the middle of an animated discussion about all the hot girls at this camp when I spotted something interesting on a hill at the edge of camp.
" Grant, could you push me up that hill there?". He frowned in confusion. " Why do you want to go up there? To see the dragon?". I gaped at him.
" That's a dragon. Whoa, that's so cool. Wheel me up the hill". " But...", he began. I glared at him. " Grant, be a good boy and roll me up the hill now". He opened his mouth to continue protesting, and promptly closed it again when I glared at him.
" Fine, I'll wheel you up the hill". He pushed the chair up the hill, looking incredibly nervous as he did. As we got closer to the tree at the top of the hill, the piping that was coiled around it slowly transformed into a purple dragon. The dragon lifted its head and snapped at us, snorting a cloud of smoke out of its nostrils. Grant went pale and took off down the hill, leaving me with the dragon.
" Come on, Grant, don't be such a wimp. It's not going to hurt you". Grant ignored me as he ran towards the camp's lake. I rolled my eyes at him and felt the chair start to slide down the hill. First it didn't register, but when it started to pick up speed, I squealed in surprise. I stuck my feet into the ground but all I managed to do was slow it down, then it sped up.
I let out a shrill scream as I hurtled down the hill. The chair hit a rut and I flew out of the chair into the air. I continued screaming shrilly as I tumbled through the air. I landed on a small slope with a grunt and rolled down the hill. The bandages unravelled and my back bumped off the ground, making me grunt in pain. I rolled into the lake with a splash and sunk like a stone. About half way down, I realised I was in the lake and started frantically paddling for the surface.
I felt something brushing off my feet and wrapping around them and, not wanting to be eaten by some ancient Greek lake monster, I swam desperately for the surface.
The last of the bandages unravelled and my back was fully exposed to the water, greatly amplifying the pain. I started to sink again, and screamed in terror, sure I was going to drown and be eaten by whatever monsters lurked in the lake.
Everything was going black, when a hand reached through the surface of the lake and pulled me upwards. I broke the surface of the lake and gasped loudly. My vision began fading again but I was determined not to fall unconscious again, so I willed my self to stay awake.
I felt myself being dragged across the ground, and I heard whispers. Finally, I was dragged over a wooden bump and I felt the grassy soil being replaced with a slatted wooden floor. I was lain on a bed and the whispering people went away. I opened my eyes, blinking the water out of them. I sat up and saw a teenage girl looking at me from a bed on the other side of the room. I was in a sizeable cabin, full of perfectly made white beds. At the end of each bed was a wooden chest with people's names painted on them perfectly. The walls were covered with posters of male celebrities, with a few personal photos interspersed throughout. The air reeked of designer perfume, which made my eyes well up and my nostrils sting.
" Ugh, where am I? The realm of dead designers". I wrinkled my nose against the heavily perfumed air. The girl chuckled. " No, it's the Aphrodite cabin, though I wouldn't be surprised if some dead designers live here".
I got off the bed and paced the cabin. " So, are you a daughter of Aphrodite?". The girl nodded sadly. " I am. My name's Piper by the way". " Nice to meet you, I'm Tansy".
" I know who you are. That douchebag son of Bia wouldn't stop talking about you". " Grant?", I asked. She nodded. I rolled my eyes
" Figures that he has a crush on me, despite the fact that he threw himself out a window instead of helping". I looked at Piper, and immediately felt dizzy as her eyes were changing colour constantly. I blinked.
" So will I be staying here?". " No, you'll be staying in the Hermes cabin until...". She looked at the space above my head. I frowned and looked up. There was a glowing pink dove floating above my head. I gawked at it.
Piper shrugged. " Well, now you know where you'll be staying".
The alarm clock on my locker shrieked and I promptly woke up. I got up and was surprised to see everyone was up and getting ready for the day.
I got out of bed and struggled to keep all the s'mores I ate last night down. After a weird day yesterday, I was overjoyed by the big dinner and the campfire, but now I was starting to regret all the food I ate. I staggered to the bathroom, which was thankfully empty and threw up in the toilet.
" Ew, that was so gross". I turned around and saw a couple of blonde girls in pink nightgowns standing behind me. I grinned embarrassedly at them. " Sorry about that. I had a little too much to eat last night". The girls wrinkled their noses and hurried away. I sighed and went over to my bed and slumped down.
A girl came up to me holding a paintbrush and several bottles of poster paint. " Hi, I'm Janie. Welcome to Camp Half - Blood. I hope you're having a good time. Can I interest you in having your name painted onto your chest?". She nodded towards the chest at the base of the bed. I smiled uneasily at her.
" No, I'm fine. I don't want my name painted on my chest". " Are you sure? The benefits are endless". I raised my eyebrows at her. " Really, name one".
" Well, first of all, it saves you from doing it yourself. Second of all...". " Okay, I've heard enough. Bye bye". The girl glared at me and stormed away.
Piper walked up. " Don't worry about her. The Hermes campers are always trying to scam everyone". I nodded in agreement. " So, how come everyone's up so early?". " The Aphrodite cabin always get up early every day to get a head start on chores before breakfast." I frowned at that.
" I thought Aphrodite was the love goddess, not the domestic goddess." Piper shrugged. " Well she is the goddess of beauty, so her children like to be surrounded by beauty, a little too much sometimes." I looked around and nodded.
" Want to come to breakfast with me? It's starting round about now". I grimaced. " No, I'm not feeling so hot after all the s'mores last night. I think I'll just look around the camp, and come eat later if I feel like it". Piper nodded and walked away.
I opened the chest at the end of my bed and took out an orange T - shirt that said Camp Half - Blood and a pair of jeans. I pulled them on and walked out of the cabin.
Peleus the dragon growled in appreciation when I scratched his ears. I smiled at him and gave him a dead polecat, which one of the Hecate campers had given me. The satyrs warned me to stay away from Peleus, as he was a dragon and a monster, but I think he's really sweet.
Peleus' head suddenly snapped up and he growled at something behind me. I looked up and saw an enormous hellhound staring right at me. It growled at me. Peleus unfurled his coils and reared up, breathing fire at the hound. It whimpered and took off down the hill. Peleus coiled back around the tree, growling contentedly.
Having enough to do with giant canines to last me a life - time, I gave Peleus one last ferret and hurried off down the hill.
I greeted a couple of demigods who were relaxing on the lake's jetty. I walked up to what looked like a garden shed and went inside. I gasped. The place was full of weapons, from traditional Greek weapons like swords and spears to modern weapons like guns and even grenades.
I picked up a bronze gauntlet and pull it onto my hand. I then picked up a sword and swung it around. I nearly sliced my side with it and hurriedly put it down.
" Liking what you see?". I spun around and saw a boy in a trench - coat and fedora standing in the doorway. " Yeah. I'm really not into swords and stuff".
" Neither am I. I prefer to use my powers and my brains in a fight". I frowned at him. " Do you fight often?". " Well, no, except the training fights we have at camp. I'm Paris, by the way. Paris le Beau, son of Techne".
" Nice to meet you. I'm Tansy Denton". Paris nodded. " I know who you are. I was there when Annabeth and Will loaded your dying body into the Grey Sisters' taxi". I frowned.
" Okay. That's nice. So, you're a son of Techne. Who is Techne, exactly?". Paris sighed. " She is the goddess of crafts, inventions and magic. She's kind of a minor goddess, unlike Aphrodite", he said, rather bitterly. I smiled rather uneasily at him. I decided to change the subject again.
" So, any weapon you would recommend, as your mom is goddess of inventors". He gave me a rather withering look. " If you want weapons advice, ask one of the tools in the Athena cabin, as they are so knowledgeable". I smiled uncomfortably, trying to let my thoughts out of my head onto my face.
" Well, I'll see you around". I pulled off the gauntlet and made a hasty exit.
I hurried into the building nearest to me and sat down behind a large bronze machine. I peeked out from behind it and saw Paris le Beau trudging past the building I was in. He glanced in my direction and I hurriedly hid again.
" Excuse me, can I help you?". I spun around to see a beefy teenage girl and an equally beefy nine - year old. I got up quickly. " No, I'm fine, I was just hiding... I mean resting my feet. I've kind of been wandering around camp for a couple of hours. I'm just tired". I beamed expansively at her. She looked at me strangely.
" I'm Nyssa, by the way, and this is Harley". I smiled again. " Great, nice to meet you. Now, I have to go now, so if you'll excuse me". I got up and made for the entrance but Nyssa blocked my way. " Hey, don't you want to look around? Most new comers do." I peered at her. " Why would I want to look around this place... Oh". I was in some kind of workshop. In the back off the room there were three furnaces, which were constantly being opened and closed by a group of kids. In the middle of the room there were several workbenches, littered with pieces of bronze and tools. There were also every sort of tool hung on the walls.
" What is this place?". " It's armoury. Its where the children of Hephaestus make weapons, automatons, gadgets etc." " So I guess you guys are children of Hephaestus". " Yep", Harley said. I nodded my head. " Interesting. So, can you make customised weapons?".
" Yeah sure. But keep it reasonable. Our skills and time have limits". I grinned excitedly. " Great, so could you start now?". " Yeah, sure. We need to take your measurements though."
I frowned at Nyssa. " Why?". " So the hilt has to be weighted right". I wrinkled my nose. " I don't want a sword." She looked exasperatedly at me. " What do you want?". " How about..." I flicked through my memory for possible weapons. I smiled brightly.
" Claws". She raised an eyebrow. " Claws?". I nodded. " Yeah, like mounted on gloves". " Okay", Nyssa enunciated. She took out a notebook and wrote it down. " So any particular requirements?" " Other than making them very sharp, no". Nyssa nodded and turned away.
I looked around and became curious. " Wait". She turned. " Why is everything made of bronze?". She sighed. " It's celestial bronze, a magical metal which is capable of killing monsters."
" Why can't the gods enchant metals to kill monsters? Why can't you enchant metals to kill monsters? I mean, bronze isn't exactly a battle - worthy metal.". Nyssa pursed her lips. " Because, as I said, our skills are limited". I nodded. " Okay. See you, let's say, tomorrow". She nodded.
" Great". I turned and left the armoury.
Nyssa's Perspective:
I watched her go for a couple of minutes, then returned to my workbench.
" She was kind of weird", Harley said. " Well, that's children of Aphrodite for ya".
