Walking up the hill, dressed in armor with a ten foot long 'cape' is no easy task. It was almost like climbing the rock wall without using your feet, and yes, before anyone asks, I have tried that, and I did make it to the top, just with some new burns. So needless to say by the time I reached Apollo, he was doubled up in laughter.
"I... have... never seen... someone... fall that much... In all my years of existence .." he managed to gasp out between laughs. I glared at him. I pulled off my breastplate and put it on the ground with my red plumed helmet. I detached my belt and let my sword drop. I left the banner on since it was my badge of honor.
"You done?" I snapped. He nodded.
"So what's with the get up?" I smirked.
"I just won Capture the Flag," I said smugly.
"Oh, I saw that, you wouldn't have made it if Will hadn't let those guys catch him," Apollo said. I rolled my eyes.
"I was almost there when they got him anyway."
"Still I think my cabin should have won."
"Well," I said with a smug smile, "I'm the one who carried it over the river, so my cabin won, I'll tell your guys better luck next time."
"Fine," Apollo pressed his back to the tree and slid down to the grass. He patted the spot next to him. "You might as well sit, you look exhausted." I flopped down next to him, rather ungracefully.
"Nah, I'm not tired at all," I tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn, he snorted.
"Not tired, my ass," I laughed. "So, are you excited for the fireworks next week?" I shrugged.
"Yeah, it'll be fun," Apollo elbowed me.
"You don't sound very happy."
"I am," I shot him a crooked grin. "It's just that they always remind me of..." I trailed off. The fireworks reminded me of the Titan War. To me the explosions sounded like the roars of the monsters and the screams of my fallen friends and siblings. The fireworks themselves were beautiful but the noise always ruined it for me.
I guess you can say I have not gotten over the war yet.
"What?" Apollo asked. "Come on, you can tell me."
"The war. They remind me of the battle against Kronos' Army," I smiled sadly. Apollo's easy smile disappeared.
"I take it that the war was hard on you?" I started to pick at the grass.
"It was hard on all of us, everyone lost someone important to them," I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes.
"How old were you?"
"Eleven."
"And they let you fight?" Apollo looked completely shocked. A small giggle escaped me.
"Well, not exactly, we hid in the van until we reached Olympus."
"We?" I coughed awkwardly. I really did not want to discuss what happened next, especially with Apollo. The pain was still too fresh and I had had six years to try to get over it.
"Well, there were three of us, me, Colleen, daughter of Athena, and your son Danny. Lynn was supposed to be with us but Argus caught her." I did not try to stop the tears now, hopefully Apollo would understand. "Colleen and Danny were killed, the Lamia got them. She would've gotten me too if...if Will... if he hadn't seen me and shoot her."
I gulped at the end. Apollo held out his arms for me. I crawled over and knotted my hands into his shirt, my face pressed against his shoulder. I let myself sob, really sob, for the first time since the war. Six years worth of tears made their appearance. Tears that I had hidden behind a fake smile. Gut wrenching sobs that caused my entire body to shake with the force of them. Apollo wrapped the banner carefully around my legs, since the night had begun to grow cold.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled once I had run out of tears.
"Don't be, it's hard to get over loss, I would know." Apollo shifted so I was pretty much sitting in his lap. "Besides, I still get upset thinking about kids I lost thousands of years ago." I tilted my head to look into his eyes.
"I let your son die, I ran away when he needed me. Why are you comforting me?" Apollo chuckled.
"Well, the way I see it is, you were both eleven, there is no way in Tartarus you would have been able to take on Lamia. You're very lucky to be alive, Danny was destined to die, I knew the minute he went into battle, that's not your fault. So don't blame yourself."
"How did you know?" Apollo laughed.
"Are you sure you're not one of Athena's kids? Because you sure do act like one sometimes," I snorted.
"I get that a lot actually," I smiled a little. The first thing Travis asked me when I got to camp was if my dad was a smart man. He had looked completely shocked when I told him I had never met my dad. "I know you're the god of prophecy, but how does that work? Is it like pictures or what?"
"It's actually really simple," Apollo laughed. "Your dad even figured it out. But, basically, I see the future like a video, but at the same time I can see the emotions, almost like colors..."
"Like an aura?" I asked. Apollo smiled.
"Exactly, so I can see the emotions of someone's past, present and future. The problem is, if I tell a mortal what it is I see, it'll change and usually for the worse. "
"So you can't tell me my future?" I frowned. "Then prophecy sounds like a crappy thing to have."
"It can be, but it's also awesome, like me," Apollo winked.
"Can you see my future?" I asked. Apollo frowned.
"Yes," he bit his lip. "I wish I could tell you but parts are still blurry, even to me. You still have some choices to make before anything becomes permanent."
"Is what you see good or bad?" Apollo gave me a strange look. Like he was in pain or had eaten something sour. Something told me what he saw wasn't all moon beams and star light.
"Can't tell you that either."
"Is there anything you actually can tell me?" Apollo scratched his chin.
"I'm not gonna risk it," I groaned and rolled my eyes.
"I'll find out eventually."
"I know you will, that's kinda how the future works," I laughed.
"I have a dorky question..."
"Oh this should be good..." Apollo groaned.
"Will we have flying cars in my lifetime?" Apollo and I both started laughing. We laughed so hard that he loosened his grip on me too much and I wound up rolling down the hill. My banner wrapped around me, becoming almost like mummy linens
"You alright?" he laughed.
"Fine," I giggled, disentangling myself. I looked up at the dark night sky with it's millions of twinkling lights. A burst of white flew across it moving so fast I almost missed it.
"Shooting star," I smiled remembering all the times my mom told me to wish on them. Remembering how silly the wishes were, like for a horse or that I would pass a quiz.
"Make a wish," Apollo whispered suddenly next to me. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes.
I wish it could always be like this.
A/N Oooooh I feel the urge to sing the Lion King song about feeling the love. But I shall resist (for now) This one was just so much fun to write. Like I actually really had fun diving further into the characters, hopefully you all liked it as much as I did. Quick note moon beams and star light is a family saying for romance and happiness. I couldn't think of any other way to put it.
XOXOX