~ Silver Arrows And Bloody Fangs ~

SAPHIRA

Saphira is awake at first light, but she feels as if she hasn't slept a wink at all during the past night. She had been dreading for the morning sun to arrive, as it would signal the time that she would have to finally spill her secret to her sisters. She's already rehearsed a million times how she would do it, what she would say. She'll request a private conversation with Thalia in her tent. The tents are magically soundproofed from the inside so that noises cannot be heard from outside, however they can still hear any sound outside from inside. Chloe will back her up and together, they'll explain first about Lykos and everything about him, before they move on to tell her about the wolves' lair.

Then, hopefully once Thalia is informed and convinced, they can tell everyone else and they'll be more likely to listen and understand if they see that the lieutenant is convinced.

It's not a plan that she thinks is one hundred percent without flaw, but it's the best she could come up with.

That's not the only thing on her mind.

Upon their return, Saphira and Chloe discovered that Xenia's company had also made it back. She remembers how elated Thalia was to find her friend alive and well. While Xenia and the hunters under her command were unharmed, the daughter of Sparta was unhappy that she did not manage to track down the wolves and find their lair. However, the mood was still uplifted now that the Hunt was once again, back in full force and backed up by the large company of campers.

Saphira however, was still feeling uneasy and miserable. It's about seven in the morning now. She should rouse Chloe and have them start heading to Thalia's tent and get this dreaded talk over with. She leans over her dozing friend and gently shakes her until she stirs and awakens.

"Hm? W-what is it?" Chloe murmurs sleepily, slowly sitting up to focus on Saphira.

"Chloe. It's time," Saphira says, zipping up her jacket halfway.

"Oh. Give me a minute and I'll be ready," the healer says and begins to scramble about the tent for her clothes.

Saphira nods and unzips the tent to step outside into the frigid morning air. Many of the other girls and campers are beginning to stir and go about the camp with their morning activities. A minute later, Chloe emerges from their tent, dressed and ready to go.

"Okay. Let's do this," she says. Despite her being the one to push for them to tell the Hunt everything, even she looks a little nervous.

Taking a deep breath, Saphira and Chloe pad over the snow, heading for the lieutenant's tent. They pass by hunters and campers, with Chloe getting a fearful look from a boy who she had struck over the head with her bow. Other than that, nobody pays them any mind. This does little comfort Saphira. She's even more nervous than she had been when she first brought Lykos those ribs as a peace offering, unsure of whether he would go for the ribs or for her.

Thalia's tent comes into view, and the lieutenant herself is sitting on a chopped log of pine with her wolf, Anemos, beside her. The large she-wolf is enjoying the sky child's attention, craning her head back for the best behind-the-ear scratches. How different the timber wolves are from Lykos. He has an air of pride and dangerous elegance that none of the timber wolves, not even the two largest and most dominant, Anemos and Dankana, possess.

"Morning, you two," Thalia calls in greeting as they approach.

"Morning, Thalia," Saphira replies, closing the distance. Right away, Thalia seems to be able to tell that something is wrong, either from her tone or expression or both.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

Saphira exhales and replies. "We need to talk to you about something important. Privately."

Thalia frowns and rises from the log, gesturing to Anemos to send her on her way, and the wolf complies. The lieutenant has always been a very understanding person, wise for her age. Saphira sends up a silent prayer of thanks when that understanding makes itself evident once more.

"Come on in then," she says, pushing open the tent flap to welcome them inside. Saphira and Chloe follow her inside, every move making Saphira more nervous than before. Thalia gets them all situated inside, sitting in a circle, criss-crossed. "What is it you need to tell me?"

"Oh boy," Saphira breathes, taking a moment to gather up her nerves. She had already decided to start from the very beginning. "So, the day that we went out to search for the monsters, after the night raid. Remember how I said I didn't find anything?"

"Of course," Thalia replies.

"That wasn't exactly true."

The daughter of Zeus narrows her eyes. "What does that mean? What did you find?"

"This is going to sound extremely unbelievable and outrageous, but everything I'm about to tell you is the complete and total truth. I need you to listen and trust me, okay?" Saphira says.

"Saph, you should know better than to think I wouldn't trust you," Thalia reprimands her. "But what is this about?"

No more dancing around the subject. She has tell her now. But the second she opens her mouth to speak, a commotion outside interrupts. Shouts and screams and the sound of armor jingling and weapons being drawn. All three girls exchange a look of confusion before Thalia scrabbles to throw open the flap and poke her head out. Saphira can hear growls and bellows, and Thalia's wide eyes when she throws a glance at them confirms her fears.

"We're being attacked!" she roars before bursting out of the tent, her shield and spear expanding. Saphira and Chloe charge outside after her, with Chloe going for her bow and Saphira opting for her knives.

It is carnage outside. Hunters and campers are engaged in both close quarters and firefight with a horde of wolves. Dozens of the massive, snarling beasts run wild throughout the camp, tearing through tents, hurtling their supplies everywhere and charging at the panicked hunters and campers. One camper male is caught in between two wolves, and both ravenous creatures beset him with their fangs, with one clamping down on his arm and the other ripping into his leg. The boy's bloodcurdling screams cut through the air as he's thrashed and torn in opposite directions until his arm is pulled clear of his shoulder, spraying blood over the snow.

Another camper is tackled into a campfire, with his face down and trapped against the burning embers. His muffled, horrible cries are cut short by the enraged wolf digging into his back with its claws as if it were digging into the earth. His lifeless, ravaged body is left to smoke over the fiery embers. One of her sisters is being dragged over the snow by her foot, but several arrows impaling the wolf's flank saves her from a bloody end.

"Saph!"

Chloe's desperate cry snaps Saphira out of her shock. She whirls around and her beloved friend is trapped on her back, struggling to keep her bow as a barrier between herself and the massive wolf thrashing over her. Swifter than a falcon, Saphira darts to the aid of her friend, flipping her knives into a reverse grip, she springs onto the wolf's back and hammers both silver blades into the back of its neck. The wolf doesn't even have enough life remaining in it to yelp as it collapses to the side and melts into shadows.

"Thanks!" Chloe rasps as she rolls onto her feet. "Duck!"

Saphira drops down low and Chloe fires an arrow over her head, sniping a charging wolf right in the chest and dropping it. Saphira gives her a brief nod of thanks before they race off to assist their sisters. The battle is an ugly one. The snow-covered ground has been stained crimson with the blood of both sides, but only a few bodies of hunters and campers lay on the ground. But at any second, Saphira is expecting the full force that she witnessed in their lair to come stampeding from the forest and destroy them.

She deters an attacking wolf with a swift slash of her knife, slicing its nose open and quickly sticking her other knife right to its eye. The wolf shakes its head, thrashing about and leaving itself open for Saphira to dart and finish it with a stab to its skull. A second wolf bursts from a tent and rears up, ready to bring its massive weight down upon her, but a blur swoops past her and suddenly, a pair of swords become embedded in its torso. Her savior is the daughter of Sparta herself.

"Stay focused, sister! We need you!" Xenia growls as she brings both her swords down to hack a wolf's skull open and reduce it to shadows. She produces a loud whistle, and a large timber wolf bounds from the chaos and springs upon a Lycaon's wolf. The much larger wolf isn't even put off balance, but the timber's fangs latching onto its fur is enough of a distraction for Xenia to stride forth and plunge her swords into the beast's flank.

"Demigods, phalanx on me!"

The bellowing command rings out loud over the carnage. Clarisse stands in the center of the the battlefield with her shield and spear raised high for her brethren to form up on her. In an instant, campers assemble around her in a circle phalanx, with shields creating a wall and their spears jutting out. A few hunters are encircled within the phalanx, firing arrows over the campers' heads and sniping wolves that attempt to break through the shield wall. The mass of campers in the center seems to be a beacon because many wolves charge and throw themselves at the phalanx, only to get speared or shot.

The strategy works marvelously, as the wolves' numbers quickly begin to dwindle until only a dozen are left. The remaining wolves are getting picked off, and it seems like the tide of battle has turned massively in their favor.

Then there's a loud rumble and a ruckus of thundering footsteps, and the woods on the north side erupt into a cloud of frost. A pair of hyperboreans and another half dozen wolves burst from the cloud to join the battle, with the arrival of the frost giants dispersing the phalanx wall. Saphira forms up alongside Xenia and Thalia, her knives dripping blood on the snow. Despite the carnage and violence, Saphira's thoughts are split and torn towards her wolf friend. Wherever he is, she hopes that he's far away from here, safe and alive.