Someone had leaked the news about the war between the gods around camp, and now, everyone was gathering arms. All at once I had people swearing their allegiance to my father, calling out to me to tell me that they were on my side, so all at once I had Aphrodite, Apollo and shockingly, Ares on side. Clarisse sounded utterly furious about the fact that she had to swear allegiance to me and I almost enjoyed the fact that she had been forced to bow her head as was customary, but it seemed that her own dad had sent a message to signify which side he was swearing for. To be honest? It was totally freaking me out. People gathered around me all yelling and demanding answers, making me backtrack and stumble until Snowstorm came rushing forwards and gave a trumpeting cry whilst flapping her wings at everyone to make them back off before letting me up onto her back, yelling at them as I took a moment to catch my breath. "I'm not part of this, so don't expect me to lead anyone in battle! Poseidon's business is his own, it's nothing to do with me!" I shouted back to them before charging away on Snowstorm to escape, but I could hear the arguments behind me as Athena argued their case for Zeus.
So far the Demeter, Hermes and Hephaestus cabin hadn't declared, but if things carried on like this then they'd be forced to choose a side. I told Snowstorm to take me to Chiron who was at the archery range and I promptly informed him of what was happening, explaining that the cabins were at war with one another because someone had let slip that the gods were arguing and taking sides. Chiron must have been alarmed because he took off so quickly that Snow had to throw back her head in order to make way for him whereby she then huffed and snorted in disgust. I got the feeling that she didn't really like centaurs much. "Well, there goes any chance for peace and quiet. Do you know where Luke is Snow? I should probably warn him things are getting intense." Snorting softly, Snow told me she'd find him for me. We went steadily from there, walking leisurely from the archery range up the main path where Snow kept an eye out for Luke whilst I just sat there wondering how the word had gotten out.
We found him at the Big House on the porch, however when Snowstorm started to increase her pace, I questioned what was her hurry. 'Because my lady, I can see that Hermes child speaking to someone through a rainbow, and I believe it may be your brother. Hold on!' At the mention of Percy, I immediately gripped onto her more tightly and sat upright. I have no idea what she meant by the rainbow, but all that mattered was Percy could be talking to Luke. I cried out his name, and sure enough when we were closer, I heard my brother's voice calling back to me but it was soon cut off, and when Snowstorm reached the house she sadly told me that he was gone. 'Forgive me, my lady. I should have galloped faster.'
"No, it wasn't your fault, it's alright Snow." I assured her with a pat to her neck even as I dismounted, hurrying down so quickly I almost lost my footing, staggering to move towards the Big House. "Luke? Was that really Percy? Is he okay? How was he talking to you?"
"Hey Lils. Yeah that was Percy, he seemed okay to me which is good. I heard that the cabins are declaring war. One of the wood nymphs is running around spreading the news." He said to me as he vaulted from the porch and landed squarely on the ground in order to come towards me. "You okay? I'm guessing things are getting pretty intense now." Nodding my head I bit my lips slightly with worry, wanting to ask more about Percy and Luke must have guessed it, because he chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, Percy is doing great for his first quest. He's run into a little trouble, but he, Annabeth and Grover have all gotten themselves out of it easily enough. They're in Denver at the moment and they're still making their way west. He and the others contacted the camp through I-M'ing, Iris Messaging. Sometimes she lets us half-bloods use her messaging system to talk to other people, though you need to make a rainbow and give her an offering for it to work." He explained to me as I took several deep breaths.
"But Percy's okay? He's not hurt?" Feeling his smile upon me, Luke then put his arms around me and pulled me into a reassuring hug.
"Percy is fine. He'll be back before you know it." But that last part didn't sound so certain, and the quiet knot in my stomach that had previously settled a little returned with a vengeance, and now there was nothing that anyone could do or say that would make it go away. Not Luke, not Snowstorm, not even Chiron. He was disappointed to have missed Percy, not as much as me of course, but he told me that he couldn't run the risk of contacting Percy back in case we interrupted him in the middle of a fight with a monster and distracted him. This did not make me feel any better. Everywhere I went people were now talking about the war between the gods, placing their bets on who was going to win and some, namely cabin five, were rather excited about the prospect of an all-out war. It pissed me off to no end, and Clarisse of course did not make things any better. She started to show up in my sword fighting lessons with everyone else and would challenge me to a fight. Every time she won, she'd crow and taunt me, saying that my dad must be glad he had another kid to depend on, because I was totally hopeless.
This time I shook the earth so much that I broke a lot of stuff, including the Ares cabin despite the fact that it was a fair distance from me, and it was only their cabin that had their roof caved in. It was a rather satisfying feeling, and I refused to take responsibility for it, daring anyone to argue with me as I turned my back on Clarisse who now snarled at me. Unfortunately she got her own back, she and some of her siblings catching me by the arms and legs when Snowstorm was grazing elsewhere whilst I was trying to relax and think positive things for Percy. Before Snow could realise what was happening and reach me, they had all lifted me up over their heads and trapped my limbs to keep from flailing around. I'd screamed and bellowed, demanding that they let me go only for them to toss me into the lake, where I felt a genuine pitfall of fear. The moment I crashed into the water I felt a sensation in my gut that was like a hypnotic and almost instinctive pull but I fought against it, writhing blindly. I couldn't swim, I didn't know how, so all I could do was hold my breath and sink as I rejected the water and my dad's heritage, meaning that the water pushed and pulled itself around me, writhing as I did until the opposing forces seemingly collided against me and threatened to crush me right there and then. I felt hands grab at me but this only made me panic further, not aware that it was just the naiads trying to help me out of the water, and with such a burst of fear the water actually started to bubble and churn.
I was so sure I would drown, distantly hearing Snowstorm screaming for me in desperation as I tried to hold onto my breath for as long as I could before the need for air became too great. I couldn't fight the instinct to breathe in, water rushing into my lungs as I continued to fight against my heritage, not knowing that my father would have protected me if I'd just asked for it, but I wanted nothing to do with him. Especially not now. The daughter of the sea god would have drowned in a lake if it hadn't been for Luke Castellan. He'd dove in after me after noticing Snowstorm acting wild and crazy on the shore, attacking Clarisse and the others and trying to summon help to rescue me, the naiads then rushing from the cascading waters that seemed to be fighting one side against the other, yelling that I had been thrown in and was drowning. Despite the fact that with the churning current of the water that was being created, he dove in and swam down in order to rescue me. He himself pulled me up and carried me to shore, pushing the water from my lungs with quick compressions to my chest before I threw up what had been caught in my lungs and finally able to drag real air into my body. Not even Clarisse laughed. They'd meant it as a joke. They hadn't known I couldn't swim, but after making sure that I was breathing and alive, I heard Luke turn on them with a fury that I'd never expected him to possess.
He went totally ballistic at them as Chiron came galloping, and the naiads came to me and hushed me as I coughed and continued to panic, unable to understand what was happening or where I was. They soothed me with melodic voices and I suddenly felt extremely sleepy, recalling the press of a velvet nose against my face as my head lulled, and underneath the rumbling thunder of the stormy heavens, Luke's voice bellowed with a might and fury that even caused me to shudder as I passed out. I was taken back to my cabin in order to rest and Snowstorm remained worriedly outside as some of the naiads remained in order to look after me, wrapping me up in towels in order to dry me off and keep me warm. When I woke up my fear of water was only reaffirmed, and once I had gathered my wits back to me, I swore if Clarisse tried anything like that ever again then I would shake the very foundations of her soul and cast it down to Hades to become a chew toy for hellhounds. It was the only time I ever heard her sound meek, apologising to me in a pathetic mumble before scarpering. Luke worried about me after that, sticking close though I tried to tell him I was fine. "Guess you saved me again. Isn't that two I owe you now?"
"Sure but who's counting? Always glad to rescue a damsel in distress." He joked, though not as brightly as he would have done before. I noticed more and more that Luke was growing dark and despondent, that he didn't laugh or joke as often as he did before and one of the other kids from the Hermes cabin told me secretly that he was pretty sure Luke was having nightmares. He kept on mumbling in his sleep. Worried for him, I managed to catch him on his own, sitting in the middle of the training grounds on his own as Snowstorm brought me too him.
"Would you mind leaving us alone for a bit? I want to talk to him privately." I felt Snowstorm bow her head and she readily agreed, nudging me until I was facing Luke directly and told me that if I walked directly forwards then I would reach him in a few dozen paces. I counted them as I walked. Sure enough I began to sense him near to me though I almost tripped over him, flushing as I apologised then sat down opposite him. "You doing okay Luke? You seem like you're worried about something. Is it the war?"
"Something like that. Don't worry about it Lily, it's fine." I could definitely hear something wrong in his voice, he wasn't even bothering to hide it anymore. "Heard anything more from Percy?"
"No, nothing. What exactly did he talk to you about the other day? You said he was in Denver, but that was three days ago. It's almost the solstice and still no word on the lightning bolt." Twisting at my bracelet, I decided to try and not worry about Percy right now, because something was clearly agitating Luke, and I had a gut feeling that it wasn't about the war that was threatening to explode around us. He seemed tired. No. Exhausted. I could practically feel the fact that his spirit had drained, even in the lifeless tone of his voice. "You know, you can always talk to me if something's bothering you Luke. I owe you that much at least." I said to him but this time he didn't answer, which upset me a little because I thought we'd gotten close enough that we could talk freely with each other. "Luke…have you been having trouble sleeping?" Clearly this was the wrong thing to say, because Luke turned to me with a look that made me feel deeply uncomfortable even though I couldn't see him, it was even a little scary. I could feel this penetrating darkness somehow digging through me, and I gulped as a steely voice growled that caused me to shrink back from him. It would have been better if he'd shouted.
"That is none of your business Nerida Jackson." Using my real name caused me to flinch and shiver, feeling the powerful effect of its use like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over me, and I even whimpered. Suddenly Luke seemed to snap back all at once to his old self, feeling shocked and guilty all at once as he hastened to try and apologise. "Lily I…I'm sorry I didn't mean it, I shouldn't have spoken to you like that." He rushed and even moved over to me though when his fingers brushed against my hand I instinctively flinched away from him and I think this hurt his feelings, because his voice became strained and heavy. "Lils…I'm sorry. I have a lot on my mind but I shouldn't take my anger out on you. I'm sorry. Please don't be upset." It would probably be the start of my downfall, the downward spiral that began from this moment when I went against my better judgement and forgave Luke, and returned to trusting him implicitly because despite my instincts, I didn't want to throw away everything he'd done for me for the past two weeks, and the affection I felt towards him in the form of friendship and admiration.
"No I shouldn't have pressed when you clearly don't want to talk. I'm sorry. I'll leave you be, I didn't mean to bother you." Getting up I dusted myself off from the sand but before I could go Luke had caught hold of my wrist lightly, telling me that I didn't have to go and that he'd rather I stayed. Being stubborn I attempted to pull free, but deep down I guess I didn't really want to leave either, so we tugged a little back and forth until Luke's superior strength and he gave a firm pull on my arm. Only thing was, Luke used a little too much strength and so I went sprawling across his lap, making him laugh lightly as I then struggled to try and get back up and move away from him, flushing slightly. I was an awkward tangle of limbs, however when I finally managed to straighten myself out Luke pulled me back and neatly sat me in his lap with his arms wrapping themselves around me, making heat gather across my face again. "This is embarrassing, let me go."
"Which is exactly why I won't Lils." He teased me, sounding more and more like his old self though to me it felt rather forced, and he was holding me tightly like he didn't want to let me go. I knew this kind of hug. I hugged mom like this whenever I found her crying, which would make me upset because I couldn't do much to make her better. She'd hug me and I'd hug her, and we'd hold onto one another so tightly that in truth, we were really drawing comfort from the other. Something in me seemed to recognise this in Luke, so I didn't struggle and let him continue to hold me until gradually his grip slackened. There was a heaviness over him that I couldn't quite explain, and I really wished I could make whatever was troubling him go away, but unless he told me what it was, there wasn't really anything I could do. I hate being useless. "Hey Lils…if there…if there does end up being a war between the gods…would you fight?"
"Me?" I blinked at him in surprise then felt a darkness cast itself over me like a putrid shadow. "Of course not. If there's a war then that would mean Percy had been killed. The gods can tear each other apart for all I care, and I'd probably help them on their way, and if I find out that one of them had killed my little brother…then I think I would probably tear this world apart just to make sure they feared me before I found a way to kill them." I was deadly serious too and I wasn't afraid of any consequences from above, because right now I knew they were too busy waiting with baited breath to know what was going on with Percy to be listening to his blind elder sister. "They ruin everything, they cause so much pain and grief and none of them take any responsibility for it. They can't even keep their promises! A god that can't keep their word shouldn't be in charge, especially when all they think about is themselves." Luke shifted and his arms moved further around me as his head lowered to my shoulder, and I frowned but didn't move. I was really worried about him, he's never acted like this before, but then again I'd only known him for a little while. Still. I wanted to make him feel better somehow so I struggled to find something to say. "Luke? Um…" But I had nothing.
"Yes?"
"I just…I don't want you to be sad. Or hurting. Or…whatever it is you're feeling right now. I get it if you don't want to talk about it or even tell me what it is, but um…I'm in your corner." Since his cheek was turned into my shoulder and back, I could feel it when he smiled, though it seemed weak and pale compared to before, but still a smile all the same, and to me this felt somewhat more genuine than the others, because it also showed the struggle that he was currently experiencing.
"If that's true, then I'm pretty sure you and I could take on the world together." Now I snorted, folding my arms as Luke continued to use me as one of those hugging pillows. "I'm serious. You're terrifying when you're mad. I wouldn't want to cross swords with you if I genuinely make you angry. I think you'd cut me into ribbons or shake the earth until all the bones in my body were broken." Now this I couldn't deny and I felt rather smug about it as I smirked to myself, pondering lightly as I continued to remain seated on my demigod shaped throne. "Though it may happen yet." Not quite hearing that last mutter since it was mumbled into the back of my shirt, I turned my head as my ears sharpened in attention.
"Pardon?"
"Nothing, nothing. I was just saying I'm glad to have you around. You're one of the few level headed people at camp who also see the gods for what they are. It's nice to have someone like you to talk to." Confused as to whether this was a compliment, I offered him a rather hesitant thanks before he gave me one final squeeze before suddenly rising to his feet, making me squeak like a surprised mouse and cling onto him for balance as his arms effortlessly swept underneath me and lifted me into the air, giving me a playful toss as I yelped before he then set me on my feet. "Come on. Since we're here we might as well train a little. Let's see you put all of your training to the test, Lils. I'm not going to hold back on you." I brightened at the prospect of some more training with Luke, though he'd meant it when he said he wasn't going to go easy on me this time. I feel like until now he had been intentionally holding back his skill, always either matching my level or working slightly above in order to keep me on balance, but now he was just a hurricane of fury that I could barely keep up with. Of course with his skill he was able to keep fighting without actually ever hurting me, always holding back at the last moment before landing a hit, merely tapping me instead where he got into the habit of going 'boop' whenever he did so. It seriously ticked me off.
If nothing else I was stronger and faster than before, my arms and legs now starting to harden with muscle as my fingers also became dextrous and limber, manipulating the sword in my grasp so that I even threw in a few fancy twirls and tricks, and at one point I even managed to let go of my sword and spin on my heel, catching the sword in my other hand to turn out of my spin with a neat flourish that flung back Luke's sword and I almost managed to land a hit on him, though his godly reflexes allowed him to block though it was hasty and awkward, losing his balance whereby he had to spring back in order to reset. All the while one ear was always turned towards him, listening carefully and feeling each step he made. I didn't know then but Chiron had happened to pass by and stopped to watch, whereby he told me afterwards that he was deeply impressed with my progress and that I should be proud of myself for being able to fight toe to toe with Luke after only two weeks of training. Campers had been coming here for years and couldn't even do that much, and I couldn't even see. It made my chest swell with pride and glee, feeling light and glad that I was making something of myself finally, though the real test would come when I had to face against monsters. Chiron said I wasn't ready for that yet, though Luke promised that it wouldn't be long before I could start training against the real thing, assuring me that I just had to think of the monster as a bigger, uglier version of him and I'd be fine. It had been a weird day, weirder than usual at least and I was glad to finally go to bed after hitting the showers, too tired and achy from my bought against Luke to stay awake worrying about Percy. I felt guilty, but I fell straight asleep after hitting my pillow.