Chapter 16:
Ian's day went downhill the moment his tent got knocked over. Unfortunately for him, he was still sleeping in it at the time.
After driving all day the day before, he had passed out the moment he had a sleeping bag rolled out, only to wake up a few hours later from hunger. He had shoveled food down his throat before falling right back asleep. He really hated driving.
As he tumbled around in the canvas that was now collapsed around him and being hit on the head by a tent pole, he could hear the muffled shouts of his teammates. After several maddening seconds of disentangling, he was finally able to see what the problem was.
The problem was a flock of harpies stealing their food and attacking the demigods when they protested.
The harpies were ugly things - plump chickens with yellow feathered wings, with female faces and stringy, dust colored hair. But their lack of a threatening appearance wasn't stopping them from beating the group with their wings, and scratching them up with their talons.
Ian surveyed the scene as best he could while stabbing at monsters that came to near. The flock was thirty strong, the majority swarming in the air, before dive bombing and returning to the swarm. Jo was doing her best to take out the swarm, but they seemed to have identified her as the most credible threat to them, and were harassing her to stop her from shooting. She was forced to take out a small dagger and stab them as they got close.
Bri looked livid that the harpies were dancing around her a sword's length away while their comrades got her from behind. She and Caleb were the most frustrated - their skills weren't meant for this sort of thing. While Caleb could only bat them away with his staff, not having long enough contact with any to effectively freeze them, Bri at least could try and zap them with lightning from her sword. Even that wasn't working very well.
Out of all of them, Jess was doing the most damage. The girl was a lot more agile than she let on, and had quickly scaled a tree next to the swarm. After a few careful seconds of planning, she made a jump, landing on one of the monsters. It reared, but she held tight, even managing to carefully hold on with her legs while maneuvering her blades to her hands. Then, she drove her less than noble stead around, stabbing at anything that got close enough. Being in the swarm, that was many. Dust was raining from her position, until the harpy gave a good enough shake to cause the daughter of Nemesis to tumble off its back. Jess hit the ground with a groan, but managed to pick herself up, and gather the knives that she had lost her grip on.
Ian took it all in in a matter of seconds.. The harpies were mostly leaving him alone, as they hadn't noticed his emergence from the tent yet. They were all doing some damage, but they weren't acting as a team. Why wouldn't they just act as a team? He thought with frustration.
If you want them to act like a team, maybe you should act like a leader
Ian sucked in a deep breath, before yelling out the plan.
"Bri, defend Jo from the divers! We can't let them stop her from shooting the swarm!" Bri looked like she was about to protest the idea, before accepting the logic, and made her way towards the daughter of Apollo.
"Caleb, you and Jess keep them distracted and away from Bri and Jo. I'm going to try and use some magic." Caleb nodded, and ran over to Jess, who had just gotten up from her fall, looking hurt, but determined.
The five demigods started to have more success. Dust was continually falling from the swarm, as arrows smacked into the monsters. Jess and Caleb were playing a game of cat and mouse with any that got to close. That's when Ian closed his eyes.
In the scene just before him, he envisioned himself erasing the harpies, and drawing in them as insane and attacking each other. He put all of his focus and concentration into it, ignoring the slash of talons in his arm, and pouring every ounce of energy into it.
Several maddening seconds of nothing.
A worm of doubt. "Maybe Calypso was wrong." He thought to himself. "Maybe I can't control it."
"No." the other part of him said, "I am Ian Malark, and I can draw anything!"
There was a tug in his gut, and he let out a guttural scream. His eyes flashed open, and the remaining harpies reacted to the magic, falling out of the sky, and attacking their own kind.
Ian immediately ran forward, slamming his sword into the bird-women. His comrades did likewise, eagerly dispelling the monsters. In seconds, they were gone.
…
They cleaned up camp quicker than Ian would have thought. The tents were packed away, and the remaining food bundled together. Everybody frowned at the significant loss there.
True to Leo's prediction, the car, parked a bit away from their camp, was a complete wreck. Glass was smashed, and the metal was in shreds. Bri looked shocked at their lack of transportation. Ian was much happier at the prospect of public transportation.
With bedrolls and tents rolled up on their backs, and all the supplies that were still intact in their packs, the five heroes made the hike towards Atlanta proper. The mood was a lot lighter than it had been before. Their teamwork had lightened to air around them, they chatted and congratulated each other on their good work.
Almost everyone. Ian noticed that Bri was much less merry than everyone else. She would give a small smile, and nod, but didn't join in. And when she wasn't doing that, she had a furrowed brow, and a frown. As though she wasn't pleased with their success.
They found a bus south, and rode toward Florida. Jo, Jess, and Caleb chatted away. Jo was even teaching Jess some words in French. Her pronunciation was pleading to be put out it's misery, but they all seemed to be having a good time.
"Hey." Ian asked the child of Zeus, "Is everything okay?"
She regarded him, as though assessing his trustworthiness. Finally, she seemed to come to a decision.
"It's just-I'm supposed to be leading this quest, and all I've done is argue, and I haven't done very well at leading everyone either. You've done much better at that."
"Since when were you supposed to be leading this quest?"
She looked surprised at the question, as though it hadn't occurred to her that she wasn't the leader, even if no one else thought of her as such.
"I-I guess you're right. But I've been at camp the longest, and my dad is Zeus, and I'm the oldest so I just assumed….no, no I guess you're right. No one wants me to be the leader."
"I didn't say that, it's just-"
"No, I'll stop trying so hard. You don't have to worry about me taking your spot."
"Since when did I become the leader?" Ian asked
But the daughter of Zeus had already turned away.
Author's Note:
Hey everyone! It felt so weird to not put an author's note at the beginning, but let's be honest, you didn't care either way.
Saturday-update day! And in the morning? Wow! I'm actually on top of things for once!
Little bitty announcement!
I'm working on a one-shot project, where I write the stories you want to hear! All the details are on my profile, so check that out if you want to.
Finally, there were no new reviews, favorites, or follows. But please do review, it makes me so very happy, and I love replying to you here!
Have a lovely day!
justapercyjacksonfan
