4. I Get Turned Into a Lizard

Saben's POV

The next few weeks passed along smoothly. Raven and I continued to meet up at the beach every night. I learned a lot more about her than I'd ever imagined.

For example, did you know that Raven used to think mouth guards on football players were orange peels? And she tried to eat one once? And almost choked to death and had to be rushed to the ER so a piece of rubber could be removed from the back of her tonsils?

I know, hilarious.

Why she would try to eat an orange peel was beyond me though.

"Saben, you okay?" I heard a female voice call.

I was shaken out of my thoughts. The reality came back into view and I remembered that I was seated in the mess hall eating breakfast. The clinking of forks, knives, and spoons against bowls and plates surrounded me. The sun shined soundlessly (obviously) in the sky and faint bird chirps sounded from the woods.

My sister, Nyssa, was prodding me with her elbow and her eyebrows were pinched in concern.

I nodded. "I'm fine, Nyssa. Really,"

Her hair was pushed back in a red bandana. She shrugged off her army fatigue jacket, tied it around her waist, and rolled her eyes before turning back to her pancakes. "Whatever, Saben." She told me out of the corner of her mouth. She stabbed a piece of pancake and bit it off her fork.

I speared a bite of my eggs Benedict and looked around the pavilion. My eyesight caught on Raven, sitting at the Hermes table.

She should've been claimed by now, everyone knew that. Maybe her godly mom was waiting for her to prove herself.

Her black hair was pulled away from her face in a messy hipster bun, and she was poking her eggs with her fork, seemingly disinterested in eating.

She must've felt a pair of eyes on her, because she looked up and her gaze immediately slammed into mine.

I swear on all Hephaestus's forges that I could see the verdant greenness in her eyes all the way from here.

She rose and eyebrow and mouthed something.

I was thankful that she couldn't see my blush.

I quickly turned away from her and focused back on my food.

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Dinner came too quickly and ended way too fast. Before I knew it, it was time for Capture the Flag, our first game this month.

Chiron spread his hands and the plates of food disappeared, only to be replaced by various assorted weapons. He called out the teams. "Athena, Hecate, Aphrodite, Hermes, Apollo, and Iris vs. Ares, Poseidon, Hades, Zeus, Hephaestus, and Demeter."

Ugly cheers rose from the Ares table as they waved a makeshift flag. I grit my teeth. Team members or not, it would be Hephaestus that would be carrying the flag home tonight.

Chiron called for us to suit up and left to go to the woods.

I approached Raven, who was already dressed in battle armor and a blue horsehair plume. She was wearing black leggings, her trademark combat boots, and an orange CHB t-shirt. Her armor was strapped in a way that I knew someone had already done it for her, and she was fidgeting with her bronze sword that hung at her side.

"Hey there Raven," I called out to her.

She looked up and smirked. "What's up, Saben? Look's like we're enemies tonight."

I shrugged. "Enemies or not, I'm playing to win. And Hephaestus will win."

She smirked even wider. "Getting a bit bloody cocky are we? Well, we'll see on the battlefield, James. We'll see on the battlefield." She grinned ear to ear and walked off.

But not before I noticed a faint green tinge surrounding her fingers.

And that's when I almost got a bit got nervous.

Almost.

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"Okay! Jason, Nico, and Katie, you guys are on offense. Try as hard as you can to get the flag. Saben, Nyssa, Harley & Crew, you guys are center. You play both defense and offense. Try to get the flag if the time comes, and defend our flag with all you got." Percy called out.

"And what about us, punk?" Clarisse bit out.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Clarisse, you and the Ares kids can do whatever you want, just try not to kill anyone."

Clarisse grunted in satisfaction and nodded.

Percy grinned, "And I'll be on border patrol, as usual."

Then a whistle blew and we broke apart.

"Get in positions everyone! And remember; beware of Annabeth, the Stolls, and Lou Ellen. Who knows what sneaky tricks they have hidden up their sneaky sleeves." Katie warned.

We all nodded and cheered and got in position.

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The game got boring very soon. It was a warm and sticky night, and I could feel the sweat trickling down my back.

I heard a rustle, and instantly I was on alert. I caught a glimpse of dirty blonde and another glimpse of black hair in my peripheral vision.

The dirty blonde moved on, but the black remained put. I approached it.

Suddenly, Raven dove out of the bushes and caught me off guard.

My reflexes were faster than my mind. My sword flew up to meet hers. The loud clang rang deep into my ears and we both stumbled back from the impact.

My vision was shaky and unclear, like something was jostling me and I was desperately struggling to focus on something.

When my eyesight cleared, I faced the black haired girl in front of me. She was gripping her sword fiercely, with a lot of hesitation. I fought the urge to smirk.

She knows that she can't get past me, I thought. She knows that she's beaten.

I will not tell a lie, I was honestly about to let my cockiness and pride get in the way of reason and strategy and let her go. Raven muttered a curse under her breath.

Then she finally came to a consensus and attacked.

I have to admit, she was pretty good with a sword. But something told me that she would be even better up close, with a dagger or dual knives.

I blocked all of her attacks and get up my defense. I could see her winding down. She sucked in a heavy breath and stepped back a few paces. I pressed on forward and noticed her eyes were closed.

She was muttering something and once again, I noticed the green hint surrounding her fingertips.

But me, being the complete impulsive fool I can sometimes be, I pressed on, trying to catch her off guard.

Right before my sword could connect with her own, Raven yelled a battle cry and kicked me in the chest. My sword scattered. I landed with a thump on smooth pebbles and moss and roots. I groaned and tried to get up.

And that's when it happened.

She stepped closer to me. I didn't step back. She closed the back between us and I gazed into her emerald green eyes. They were wide.

She smelled of jasmine and lavender; a weird combination if you think about it, but it made me dizzy. Raven slipped her arms around my neck, and I ignored the fact that our armor clinked together.

I could feel her breath on my cheek. I drew even closer.

She closed her eyes and I did the same. We were so close; I could feel the heat emanating from her lips. Then she shifted and grabbed my arm.

My eyes snapped open and I saw her eyes were still closed. She was still firmly gripping my arm. I felt a warm tingle on my skin. With a jolt, I remembered the faint green aura that had hugged her fingertips earlier.

My breath was crushed back into my throat. My skin crawled and burned. I was desperately gasping in terror. Raven squeezed her eyes shut and looked away.

I saw that everything was getting larger. My eyesight sharpened and I could see everything from all sides except fro behind.

And I suddenly had the strange urge to eat a fly.

Raven opened her eyes and looked around. Then her gaze shifted down and she saw me. She gasped.

Then she overcame her shock and smirked. "I would say that I'm sorry for what I did, but my father raised me not to lie unless it was necessary."

My heart pounded in my ears. What the heck happened?

She stooped and lifted me up in the palm of her hand. She was so huge I almost died. Raven cocked her head thoughtfully.

"You know, you do look a bit cute as a lizard. I should keep you this way," She chuckled.

My heart stopped for a terrifying moment. She had turned me into a lizard? A cold blooded reptile? A bug munching slimy thing?

Gods of Olympus…

Raven set me down on a nearby branch and collected my sword. She turned to me and I saw that she was wearing a smug smile. "Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I have a game of Capture the Flag to win."

I grit my teeth and stuck out my tongue at her. She cackled and sprinted away.

Just before she disappeared out of my sight, she called over her shoulder, "Don't worry Saben, I'll send you a post card from the other side!"

I almost growled, and then I realized that it probably wasn't possible for a reptile to growl and I stopped.

I was bored, and I had nothing else to do. So what did I do?

The most obvious thing; I followed Raven.

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She had joined up with a few other kids by the flag; Cassie and Lou Ellen from Hecate, and Austin from Apollo. They murmured a few words to each other and crawled around the flag with a wide arch. I scampered behind them. They stopped behind the flag.

If I were still a human, I'd slap my forehead in disbelief.

Did Percy seriously forget to have a few defenders behind the flag?

Oh gods… we were so going to lose.

The Cassie sprinted up to the flag and grabbed it.

The guards spun around, startled and shocked. But they quickly regained their composure and pressed forward.

The group of rivals darted past the guards and shot towards the direction of the creek. Shouts and calls for reinforcement were hollered everywhere. The clangs and bangs of metal clashing together gradually grew louder as they neared the boundary line.

And me? I was frantically struggling to keep up.

A few Demeter kids had Cassie surrounded and she openly cursed. She quickly glanced around and her eyes fell on Lou Ellen, who was currently open.

"Lou! Heads up!" She cried.

Lou Ellen looked back. Cassie shot up into the air with all her might and chucked the flag,

Lou Ellen's eyes widened in surprise for about two seconds before they hardened in determination and she nodded. Then she leapt up and the iron pole of the flag slid effortlessly into her hands.

Cassie dropped and swung her legs, tripping the kids of Demeter and ran after her sister.

The Demeter kids cursed their heavy armor as they stumbled around, trying to get up.

Lou Ellen dodged past many, many campers. Her cheeks puffed as she full out sprinted for the creek. I smirked.

Percy was there. No way would they win.

Sure enough, Lou Ellen was stopped by Percy at the creek. Raven splashed right past him and my heart stopped.

All Lou Ellen ahd to do was throw the flag towards her and they would be home free.

Percy thrust his hands out and watery bonds shot out of the water. Lou Ellen panicked and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"RAVEN! THE FLAG'S ALL YOURS!"

Raven turned around mid step. Lou Ellen leaned back and hurled the flag at her like a football.

Percy whipped around and the water followed suit.

More and more campers were hurtling towards the creek. The blue team was desperately fighting off Clarisse and her siblings.

Blunt tipped arrows rained down on the crowd and the campers scattered, diving for cover.

My attention turned back to Raven and Percy. Time seemed to slow down as the flag came down on Raven. She jumped up and gripped it in her hands.

Her feet landed with a terrific splash, sloshing fresh water all over her boots and the tips of her leggings and some part of her shirt.

Percy's eyebrows tugged in determination and the water shot towards Raven.

But she was already one step ahead of him. Raven probably did the first thing that came to mind.

She took a large step forward and slammed the pole against Percy's face, the iron colliding with his cheek, ear, his nostril, and a bit of the bridge of his nose.

I would've gasped, if I weren't, you know, a human.

Percy flew back and slammed into the shore of the creek. The water dropped back into the creek and he groaned a little, dazed out of his mind.

Raven took this opportunity to sprint towards home territory. Time resumed it's usual pace as Raven leapt over the boundary line.

Their side exploded with cheers and immediately campers with blue horsehair plumes engulfed Raven and lifted her on their shoulders. The flag in her hand shimmered, and in its place was a dark purple silk banner with a picture of 2 crossed reed torches.

All talk haltered as we stared at the flag.

Raven was lowered to the ground, but her gaze never left the silk fabric in her hand.

"What the bloody…" Her statement trailed off as her eyebrows pinched in confusion.

Chiron clopped forward. Everyone was silent. He took the flag from her hands.

I crept forwards and caught snippets of muttered conversation.

"-shouldn't it be gray?-"

"-it's a sign-"

"-daughter of whoever that goddess is-"

Chiron frowned at the flag, and for once, he seemed just as bewildered as everyone else. "This makes no sense. Why in the world would this-"

He was cut off by a flash of light coming from Raven's direction.

All attention was turned to her. The stares immediately morphed into shocked gasps.

No longer was she wearing leggings, armor, combat boots, mud, water, and a helmet.

Raven was now dressed in a long dark purple sleeveless silk gown that touched just half an inch from the ground. Over it was a thick black cloak that was fastened by a silver alchemy symbol that I didn't recognize. Her black hair was pulled away from her face in a high elegant ponytail, so her raven waves cascaded down her back in gentle waves. Raven's emerald green eyes seemed brighter than usual. Her silver raven ring had been replaced by a silver raven necklace that hung from a thin chain around her neck. By her side hung a sword that I hadn't noticed before.

It was Celestial bronze; anyone could se by the faint warm glow it was casting in the darkness. It had a leather wrapped handle and was double edged.

A glint of purple caught my eye and I stared at it. Raven noticed it too and lifted her sword.

Her lips moved in a soft murmur. "Magemeno." She muttered.

Enchanted.

Raven shifted uncomfortably under the stairs. I saw that black strapped gladiator sandals were hiding under dress.

Raven was surrounded in an inky coating. It was a midnight black and purple glow.

For once, her voice was lost completely. She could only croak out a few letters and her voice would crack.

And then finally, she was claimed.

As soon as it appeared, we all knew who her mother was.

Above her head, were two crossed reed torches that were lit on fire, just like the ones on the flag.

Chiron cleared his throat. Raven turned to him. Her eyes brightened, and she seemed to have finally found her voice.

Chiron bowed from the waist (or whatever you call the part where his human part melts into his horse side) and called out, "It is determined."

Raven grinned. "Really? Then who is it? Who's my mom?"

Chiron smiled a little as he straightened, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Hecate, Goddess of Magic, Lady of the Crossroads, Mother of the Mist. All hail Raven Rose, daughter of Enchantments."

Author's Note:

Finally! I got this chapter posted! I've been working on this forever. Jesus bloody Christ.

Anyways, thanks for the reviews, follows, favorites, and PMs! It means a lot, your feedback. Thanks for reading this chapter!

XOXO,

JeynaxPercabeth