A/N: This chapter starts almost simultaneously with where the last one started, so there's a little backtrack, for those who might get confused.
Also, I've gotten some comments on the fact that I have Percy taking wounds and the like from time to time. Since it comes up again in this chapter, I thought I'd address it. No, I haven't forgotten about his invulnerability. I am using this story to play on an idea I had while reading TLH. I'm not going to tell you any more, because I don't want to ruin anything. I needed something to manipulate about Percy's character or it just wouldn't be any fun, for you or me. /soapbox
Chapter 12
Bobby
I'm gonna kill her, Bobby vowed silently. Bitch is gonna frickin' burn. 'You must start out on foot.' I'll give you a foot to start out on. Three f-in' days, they'd been wandering in the woods and rain for three days without so much as a fart on the wind to indicate some mode of transportation that would supposedly 'find them.' So Bobby made his promises that when he returned to LARD base camp, Sam was going to die…painfully. When he returned alone. He amended his vow to include Dakota in his murder plans. He shook his head in wonder at how much had changed.
A year ago, Dakota, Reyna and Jason had been virtually inseparable, and Bobby would never have thought him capable of what he'd done to Reyna. Dakota was fiercely loyal—one of his few traits Bobby actually admired—and he'd also always been somewhat stoic and reserved. Bobby never thought he would be the one to crack under the pressure of war, but he'd changed so much as a result, it was the only conclusion Bobby could come to. After the first battle he was never quite the same, and he and Reyna hadn't so much drifted apart as run away screaming from each other. Dakota and Jason had still maintained their friendship from what Bobby could tell, but he wondered if that had just been posturing for the sake of troop morale. Whatever had happened between Dakota and Reyna though, they couldn't seem to stand the sight of each other anymore. No one had any delusions they were still on friendly ground. Bobby had his suspicions, but he'd never felt comfortable enough to ask Reyna about it. Whatever it was, Dakota still carried enough resentment to have Reyna put out of his life completely.
Percy's exile he could understand. It was pure power politics, but Reyna was personal and even now completely out of character for mister slave-to-duty Dakota. There was no professional or political reason to oust Reyna either from power or the army as a whole. As a warrior, she was immensely powerful. She was the strongest magic user the army had seen in generations, and her banishment greatly weakened their already diminished forces. Unfortunately, as a leader she was weak. Dakota's ambitions couldn't have wished for a better gift than to have Reyna in charge of the First Legion. Reyna was a great friend and a strong fighter, but Bobby held no fantasies that she was the answer to Jason's desertion. With her gone, Gwen would ascend to Praetor. She would be much less tolerant of Dakota's power games, and Bobby secretly hoped she'd take an argument too far and skewer the prick. That left only a personal grudge as Dakota's motivation, and judging from Reyna's deteriorating mental state over the past three days, he didn't think Dakota was solely at fault for whatever it was that drove them apart. Reyna had always been harder on herself than others.
He looked ahead to where she was trudging through the pine-needle flotsam on the forest floor. As was becoming her natural state, she was silently lost within her own mind. She'd barely spoken since they'd left. He and Percy had tried spectacularly unsuccessfully to engage her in conversation every night as they made camp. She only responded occasionally and it was usually just with a grunt. Percy and he had become rather proficient at the silent worried glance during those one sided discourses. Suddenly, she stopped in front of him, a simple action which surprised Bobby. Though she'd been slipping deeper and deeper into herself, she'd still managed to set a grueling pace, almost never resting. She stood for a tense moment before her hands came up to her face as she dropped to her knees on the soggy ground weeping uncontrollably. He looked over at Percy and saw relief in his eyes. Reyna hadn't cried once since the exile, and maybe now she'd be able to start the coping process. Bobby knew Percy was agonizing nearly as much as Reyna. To him, it seemed like he was the cause of everything that had happened. As annoyingly sappy as the new kid was, Bobby knew he was just a useful pawn. Everything boiled down to Reyna, Dakota and Jason.
Percy began to move toward Reyna, but Bobby reached out to pull him back. He didn't want them getting too close. The prophecy scared him still, and they still didn't understand most of it. Actually, he thought he was close to deciphering at least some of it, and that scared him even more. Bobby gave Percy a warning glance as he moved forward to kneel down next Reyna. She was sobbing heartily and Bobby figured she had a lot to cry about. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders comfortingly, but she jerked violently and threw herself away from his touch. He stared at her in amazement for a moment before something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He looked up to find a creature approaching he couldn't believe he was actually seeing; they were supposed to be extinct. His natural affinity for all things animal made him stare in wonder for a moment at the shear perfectness of the beast that was deliberately stalking towards them. Its figure was generally similar to a horse with a gleaming white coat, but Bobby could distinguish cloven hooves and a lion's tail which were definitely un-horse-like. However, these features faded into the shadow cast by the animal's most prominent appendage. Erupting from the center of its forehead was a single spiraled and shining horn roughly two feet in length. Bobby marveled at the magnificent creature approaching them and he unwittingly gave thanks to whatever god had allowed him to see a unicorn before he died. That thought brought him back to his senses. He began to recall all of the lore he'd learned on unicorns, and two words kept associating themselves, death and boys.
He didn't exactly forget about Reyna lying prone and weeping on the ground in front of him as jumped to his feet to flee. Somewhere in the back of his mind, there was a rational thought that said she stood a much better chance of exiting this encounter alive than either he or Percy. As such he turned to start running he saw Percy, entranced by the creature, walking forward towards it in wonder. Bobby sighed and changed his course to intercept Percy's. Percy didn't see him coming as enthralled as he was by the unicorn, and when Bobby lowered his shoulder in a body-check, he hit the ground with a hollow grunt as all the air was knocked from his lungs. Bobby had managed to stay on his feet and reached down to pull a now very aware Percy to his feet.
"We've got to get away from here," Bobby explained in answer to Percy's perplexed grimace. "Boys and unicorns don't mix, unless you want to become a hero-kebab." Percy still looked confused, but stole a quick glance at the spiral horn.
"Alright—Wait! What about Reyna?" Percy exclaimed. "We can't just leave her there like this!"
"Don't worry, she should be fine," Bobby urged, pulling Percy along behind him as he made his way through the trees. "Unicorns are supposed to like girls." He couldn't keep the uncertainty out of his voice, but he still knew she had a better chance than they did. He pressed onward. Suddenly Reyna's voice split the quiet forest air.
"WHY ARE YOU MOCKING ME?" she screamed. Bobby turned to see her back on her knees, her arms wide and her chest thrown forward in offering. "Just do it already! Get it over with! Kill me!"
"What was that you were saying about her being fine?" Percy mocked as he pulled free, intent on going back for Reyna.
"Shit…Percy, no!"
"It's a horse, isn't it? I'm just going to try to reason with it," Percy called over his shoulder as ran back towards the creature now looming over Reyna menacingly.
"No! It's not a horse!" Bobby called, but Percy was only a few paces away from Reyna now. "Damn it, asshole! No one ever listens to me." The unicorn had lowered its head and was reared back ready to strike when Percy managed to grab Reyna around the waist and fling her out of the path of her descending death. The horn caught Percy's shoulder instead, but rather than running him through completely, the unicorn met some resistance and Percy was flung backward several feet. He landed with a grunt of pain, and Bobby could see blood begin to soak his shirt where the horn should have gored him completely. Rather than charge after Percy to finish the job, the unicorn resolutely turned back towards where Reyna now sprawled. She'd raised herself to her hands, but she was no longer defiant in the face of death. Her head hung low on her shoulders, wet hair hanging limply around her face. The beast closed the distance between them and slowly prepared to strike again.
"Fuck! I know I'm going to regret this," Bobby admonished himself. He broke into a run managed to reach the space between Reyna and the murderous unicorn just as the creature was ready to attack. "Stop! Please," he pleaded. Bobby knew it was suicide. He was even more of a target than Reyna to this animal. She was at least female. Bobby closed his eyes waiting for death but none came. After several seconds, he opened his eyes and nearly fainted. There was no way this could be happening. Far from looking murderous, the unicorn had sunk down on its forelegs and bowed its head in genuflection. He gaped at the beast that was now prostrate before him until he heard a voice speaking clearly into his blank, uncomprehending mind.
As you wish, Lord. He looked around frantically looking for the source of the disembodied female voice but saw no one other than the still weeping Reyna, unconscious and bleeding Percy, and the unicorn. He sniffed the air tentatively trying to detect the scent of grapes. Bacchus might have been playing a prank on him again. He liked to play games with Bobby's sanity from time to time, but there was no sign that a god had been present. Slowly he looked back to the kneeling unicorn, his eyebrows leveled over skeptical eyes.
"Um, was that you?"
Yes, Lord. He knew hanging out with Percy was a bad influence. Four days and his Dr. Dolittle hallucinations were already rubbing off. Bobby shook his head violently; clearly he was going crazy, even without Bacchus' intervention. Maybe he was actually dead and just didn't know it yet. He reached down to unsheathe one of his knives and poked himself if the palm. Fuck, that hurt! Ok so he wasn't dead and the unicorn didn't seem to be ready to rectify that problem. Might as well go with the crazies.
"How can I hear you speak?" Bobby asked playing along with his hallucination. "I've never heard that unicorns were telepathic."
Because of whom you are, Lord, the unicorn responded, rising to her feet again and looking him in the eyes. You are the first in millennia. We've been waiting generations for you. Though the voice was no more than thought, the unicorn was clearly as shocked as Bobby. She quivered with excitement. He almost forgot his conviction that none of this could be real. No one had ever been able to determine who he was, and yet this creature seemed to know him. His eagerness was palpable.
"How do you know me?" Bobby pressed. "Why do you call me Lord? What do you mean you've been waiting for me?" Questions bubbled up in his brain faster than he could voice them. The beast cocked her head, and Bobby could tell she was laughing at him. His stream of inquiries fell silent as he watched the horse giggle at him. Yep, Percy was driving him mad.
Your pardon, Lord, but I am not a horse. She sounded somewhat offended. Your sea spawn friend made the same mistake. It should have paid with its life, but its blood is different. Plus it is a boy…no offence, Lord.
"Uh…none taken," Bobby assured her nervously. Mention of Percy drew Bobby's attention his wounded companion. He ran over to where Percy lay unconscious to inspect his wound. He paused and turned back to the unicorn, "You won't hurt her?" If possible the animal looked shocked at this request.
I did not come to harm her. I came to offer absolution; she requested death. But I will honor your command, Lord.
"Wait, you've been waiting generations for me, but you came here for her? As in you didn't know I was here?"
No, Lord. You've been shadowed from us. Bobby wanted to ask more about that, but decided he needed see to Percy first. As he knelt beside him, Bobby saw he was still bleeding slowly. But the flow was minimal to what it should have been. The force with which Percy had hit the ground made Bobby wary of moving him. He was still unconscious and his spine may have been compromised. Taking one of his knives, Bobby carefully cut away Percy's shirt from the wound. He was glad he was the one doing this. If it had been Reyna, she would have chucked all over him, and puke isn't really a good antiseptic. The gash at first appeared significant, but once cleaned with water from his canteen, Bobby found it was only about half an inch deep. The flesh underneath, as far as he could see was untouched. As he was cleaning the wound, Bobby removed a shard of what he thought was chipped bone. As he pulled it out though, it seemed to shine with its own light. There certainly wasn't any sunlight making it gleam; they hadn't seen the sun in two days. He marveled at what the shard must have been. Setting it aside for the moment, he finished cleaning the wound with a splash of nectar. It started to close almost immediately, and Percy moaned indicating that the healing drink was passing through his blood to heal the concussion he'd also received. When he woke up, Bobby would make him eat a little ambrosia and he should be back to full strength.
Picking up the shard from Percy's wound, Bobby stood and walked back to where the unicorn stood protectively over Reyna. Her deep sobs had quieted and she'd managed to sit up. Bobby was about to present the shard of horn to the unicorn, but as he approached, Reyna looked up at him with dead eyes and a wry smile.
"Pretty fuckin' ironic, isn't it?" Her voice showed no trace of the smile she wore.
"Ironic how?" Bobby pondered as he placed the horn shard in his pocket. He'd heard her shout something about being mocked, but he had no idea what she meant.
She is impure, Lord, the unicorn replied for her. Not that she made any more sense than Reyna.
"Impure? What do you mean?" He turned back to Reyna, "What does she mean?" Reyna looked shocked for a moment as she shifted her gaze between him and the unicorn. Then she simply began to laugh. The sound held no mirth and was the desperate act of one with no recourse but to laugh.
"Perfect, Percy talks to horses, you talk to unicorns, I wonder what animal I get to talk to. Probably jackalopes," she deprecated. The venom in her voice startled him, not only because it was unusual for her, but because it also sounded familiar. She sounded like Dakota. Only now did Bobby realize she and Dakota had not fallen apart because they'd reached a crossroads and chosen different directions. When they'd come to that waypoint, Dakota had chosen his path, Reyna hadn't. She was stuck. Here was the only irony Bobby saw: a daughter of the goddess of crossroads unable to choose a direction. Well, now she was being forced to move, and Bobby would be damned if he was going to let her follow Dakota down his road of dick-i-tude.
"Reyna, don't do this to yourself," he implored. "Let me help you. What does she mean 'you are impure'?"
"Gee, Bobby let's think," she scoffed. "The eternal symbol of purity and virginity stands right next to you and tells you I'm impure." She crossed her arms and turned her face away as understanding dawned in Bobby's eyes.
"You're not a virgin." It wasn't a question, and Bobby saw Reyna wince as he laid her shame bare, but her reply was scathing.
"Ding, ding, ding! Corny, tell him what he's won!"
No.
"She wasn't being serious," Bobby explained to the unicorn, who had probably never heard of sarcasm.
No, Lord, you misunderstand. Her lost virginity makes her impure, but her impurity is not her promiscuity.
"Promiscuity?" Bobby choked.
"Perfect," Reyna snorted.
Poor choice of words, Lord, the unicorn mollified, but the point is the same. Bobby was getting a major headache.
"Look, either it is or it isn't." Why couldn't anyone make sense?
Virginity is no more pure a state than not being virgin is impure, Lord.
"But, everyone always says virginity is the same as purity." Bobby was thoroughly confused.
"Um, hello? I'm right frickin' here!" Reyna demanded to deaf ears.
No, they are two states of being. Often purity coexists with virginity, but just because one is chaste, does not make one pure. Likewise, being unchaste is not indicative of taint. Lost virginity is the cause, impurity is only a symptom. Virginity cannot be restored, but impurity can be remedied. Were that not the case, you would never have been born, Lord. The unicorn's last statement triggered a volcano of questions about his origins and it took all of his will to push them aside. Time enough later for his questions. Reyna's sanity was more important. Problem was, he still didn't understand.
"So you're sayin—"
"Reyna," a soft voice called from several yards away. All three of them started as Percy spoke up for the first time. Bobby didn't know when he'd awoken or what he had heard. Could he understand the unicorn?
"Reyna," he called again. He was staring at her with so much sympathy in his eyes, Bobby had to turn away. Instead he looked at Reyna as she brought her gaze to meet his. Bobby could tell she was losing herself in that stare, and as wary as he was about her feelings for Percy, he figured there were darker places to lose her heart.
"What?" she whispered. Her eyes filled with pain as she anticipated his next question.
"Who?"
"Percy—" Bobby interjected angrily. How could he be so insensitive? It was none of their business.
No, Lord. He understands the roots of her taint. He will cure it, she exclaimed joyfully into his mind. Bobby continued to watch Reyna as she searched for words. Her face had registered the expected shock at Percy's brash question, but as she looked at Percy, her expression gradually changed. She seemed to have found something in him she could trust implicitly. Bobby had never felt like more of a third wheel. Finally, Reyna seemed to come to a decision. He could tell it still wasn't easy, and he was angry with himself for his own heightened sense of anticipation for her answer.
"Please don't hate me," she whispered, eyes wide searching for assurance. Percy must have given her some silent sign that no one would lose respect for her because she closed her eyes with a shuddering breath before uttering "Dakota."
"What!" Bobby shouted in disbelief.
"It wasn't my choice!" She pleaded desperately, wanting Bobby to understand. He didn't want to think about the possibilities of what that statement meant. He was beyond angry. Before he knew it his knives were in his hands, his knuckles white with his grip. He didn't have anything to attack, but anger like this shouldn't be faced without a weapon.
"You mean he…? Oh my gods, Reyna! I'm gonna kill him. I—"
"No, Bobby, it's not like that either," she insisted. "There's a secret ceremony all new officers undergo the night before they're formally introduced. I know you've heard of it, the rumors have been around forever, but the details are closely guarded. Well, now you know what it involves, and why it's secret. The whole ritual is performed under a magic veil so you're not supposed to know who you're having sex with other than it's a senior officer. There were three initiates the night I was promoted. I don't know how, but Dakota found out that I was…his." Her face turned a sickly green at these words, and she turned and wretched. Bobby took a step forward to help her, but Percy was already there. He knelt beside her and pulled her hair back from her face. Bobby noticed he was careful not to touch her otherwise. He figured that was a wise choice under the circumstances. Bobby was still struggling with his anger, though it had shifted its focus.
"What is the fucking point of this 'ceremony'?" he spat. Reyna continued divesting her stomach for a few moments before she could compose herself to answer.
"Who cares? It never works anyway. Supposedly it's some BS about detaching yourself from intimacy so you don't form strong attachments to your subordinates. It's all a load of crap."
"Wait, every officer goes through this?"
"Yes," she replied simply.
"Even Serah?" Bobby choked, disbelieving as she nodded mutely. "She's only 12!"
"Why do you think most of the officers objected to her promotion?" Reyna pleaded for understanding. "She was too popular in her Legion though, and she hated us for not supporting her. She understands why now, poor girl. She was so innocent I don't think she even knew what sex was." Bobby had a pretty strong stomach, but he found himself nauseous at the thought of tiny Serah in that situation. His face must have been turning green because Reyna gave him a sympathetic look. "She actually took it well. She believes in logic religiously as a daughter of Minerva. It helped her cope. She was much better off than Hazel." Bobby sank to his knees as he remembered the months after Hazel had been promoted to Pilus Prior in her legion. She'd sunk into a deep depression no one could explain. Well, they could damn well explain it now. Bobby decided he was going to go back and wring some answers out of the Council, at knifepoint if necessary.
"Thanks for never promoting me," was all he could manage in response. There's no way he would have gone along with such a cockamamie scheme. Reyna smiled sardonically.
"I almost suggested it to Gwen before we left, but I knew you'd probably murder someone when you found out," she read his thoughts. He just couldn't believe he was hearing this. It was so far beyond the pale…
"There were a lot of promotions during the war," Bobby voiced a new horror. "Were you ever 'called into service' again?"
"No, and I'm not sure why," she replied. She might have said more, but stopped herself. Bobby understood, he neither needed nor wanted to know who of his officer friends had been forced to repeatedly participate.
You are falling into the same trap, Lord. She needs you to pull her out, not join her, the unicorn admonished. He looked at her in bewilderment. What trap was he falling into?
"How would having sex with someone you don't know teach you anything about intimacy?" Percy asked calmly. He'd been silent for a while, and his soft voice was filled with confusion.
"It's the most intimate act performed with someone you have to just walk away from," Reyna explained like he was again asking a silly question. He opened his mouth to speak again, but a realization had struck Bobby.
"Dakota couldn't walk away! He found out it was you a-and you rejected him." It made so much sense. Everything fit together, Reyna and Dakota's split friendship, his undying grudge against her, even his personality change stemmed from this stupid ritual. She nodded silently, her eyes on the ground.
"I still don't get how forced ritualistic sex with a stranger is intimate," Percy interposed shaking his head. "Doesn't intimacy come from mutual sharing and trust? How is there any trust in an act like that? Just sitting here sharing your pain seems far more intimate than that ritual. Regardless, the unicorn is right, the fact that you're not a virgin isn't why she's here. Dakota is why she's here."
He understands, Lord. The girl's taint isn't her sexual encounter, it's the attachment she's added to it. She carries the weight of her friend's path towards darkness when it is not her burden to bear. Percy nodded, obviously understanding what the unicorn was saying, and finally Bobby understood.
"Rey, Dakota's road was not your choice," Bobby explained. "He attached his closeness with you to one night of fucked up ritualistic shenanigans rather than to the years of close friendship you shared. That's his own damned fault, not yours. He knew how you felt about Jason, everyone did. He made the choice to give you an ultimatum, and he should have known he wasn't going to win. None of this is your fault. You need to let it go." She began to cry again, and this time Percy did reach out to her. She hesitated at first, then fell forward into his arms weeping openly. Her tears were no fewer than before, but Bobby knew she was beginning to heal.
Lord, do you have the shard you removed from the sea child's wound?
"Yes," he replied, reaching into his pocket to produce the gleaming object. He noticed it was tinged a rosy pink whereas the unicorn's horn was pearly white. A thought occurred to him. "What's your name?"
I am called Alabaster. You may call me Ali, if you wish.
"Will the blood wash off?" Bobby wondered as he considered the small chip of horn. He'd heard various rumors about the powers of unicorn horns, mostly having to do with purifying poisoned objects. He couldn't recall any legends about blood, but unicorns had supposedly gone extinct ages ago so some lore was likely lost.
Not this blood, Ali told him. The sea child's blood is…special. It carries the hopes and dreams of all men. Bobby stared disbelieving first at the horn chip and then at Percy.
"Him?" he exclaimed incredulously. "Giggles McGee over there carries the hopes of the world? You can't be serious." Ali looked at Percy who was still cradling Reyna's dejected form. Bobby didn't know how it was possible, but the unicorn managed her own skeptical look.
Perhaps I was too grandiose in my word choice, she rejoined. It's more that his blood bears the mark of those dreams. More like a shadow, but it gives him powerful protection. Yet, it is weakening. Bobby looked askance at the unicorn.
"You seem to have problem with word selection," he remarked.
I don't spend much time conversing with humans, Lord.
"Yeah, me neither," he agreed. "Oh, and you can stop with the whole 'Lord' thing. It's creeping me out."
As you wish, Master. Bobby sighed, this was going to get awkward. Give the shard to the girl. Bobby looked again at the small object in his hand that shouldn't have existed. He had to admit he was a bit reluctant to give it up.
"Will it help her heal?"
In a way. It doesn't hold any special powers, those legends are mostly false. However, it will serve as a reminder that purity still exists where blood has been spilt.
"Nice metaphor."
Thank you, Master. I thought so myself. Bobby walked forward smiling ruefully. It was good to know animals had a sense of humor. He knelt down next to Percy and Reyna. After a moment, they both looked up at what he offered. He proffered it to Reyna silently. Her curiosity gave way to wonder as she understood what she was holding. Bobby thought Ali must have been lying because the change the stole over Reyna's features was too dramatic to not have been magical.
"What does it do?" she queried still awed by the object.
"Apparently it cheers you up," Percy responded with a smile. Bobby had to agree.
"Supposedly it has no special powers, but will—how did she put it?—serve as a reminder that purity still exists where blood has spilled, or something like that," Bobby added as she scowled at him. "Hey! The unicorn's words not mine." Reyna softened a little and looked more closely at the horn piece.
"It's stained!" she gasped as she looked between the original horn and the part she held. She looked at Percy and smiled. "You must have some pretty powerful blood. I thought unicorn horns were supposed to reject blemishes."
"About that, did you hear what Ali said?" Bobby asked.
"Sort of," Percy answered. "She's not really a horse, so it's hard for me to understand her clearly. She's got a pretty thick accent."
He's the one with the accent. I speak just perfectly, Master. Bobby chose to ignore that.
"She said your blood has some mark of men's hopes and dreams. Do you understand what she meant?"
"Nope."
"Well whatever it means, she thinks it's what gives you your strange protection," Bobby informed. "She also thinks it's weakening." Percy's eyes lost some luster at this statement, and for some reason, he turned and gave Reyna a haunted, searching stare.
"Her name is Ali?" Reyna broke the tension nervously, looking at the unicorn.
"Alabaster, yes."
"She's beautiful," Reyna admired.
You may keep this one, Master.
"Can you ask her if there's someplace close we can get out of the rain?" Percy asked, recovered from his momentary introspection
There—is—a—cave—just—over—the—hill—sea—child, she spoke slowly as if that would help Percy understand her better. He returned a level stare as the unicorn snorted her version of laughter. Bobby decided he liked this animal. It was going to be a fun trip.
