[A/N] Back again, thanks as always for your kind words. It's been great fun doing this so far, probably should finish my christmas shopping at some point too, ah gotta love the holidays. Let's dive right back in.
Broken Bow: The 12 Years of Christmas
Chapter 6: 2005
December 25th 2005 12:03am
Things were not going to plan. Though, if 'Santa' were to be entirely honest with himself; things had not been going entirely to plan since the half-blood had woken up in the night five years ago, but never did he think things would spiral this far out of control.
"You are being very naughty this year, little boy!" objected 'Santa', the wind buffeting him as he dodged another arrow.
That's one unfortunate thing about the sleigh; it wasn't very aerodynamic; 'Santa' sure as heck wasn't used to using it for high speed manoeuvres. He just prayed his sister didn't catch wind of this, she'd never let him live it down.
'Santa' cursed as an arrow streaked past his head, impaling his hat on the other side of the sleigh.
He let go of the reigns and swung about, calling his bow and firing a flaming arrow into the night, but his target had already vanished.
That's the thing about griffins; they're classed as being the 'guardians of the divine' blessed with immense strength and speed, capable of pursuing and catching anyone who violated the sanctums they had been tasked with guarding, and what did 'Santa' do when he found himself in possession of one of their eggs?
He gave it as a birthday present to the son of the goddess of the Hunt.
With a little more foresight, perhaps maybe on the level he reserved for his duties, he would've seen this coming.
A recent growth spurt in Tim the griffin earlier this year had took her onto her adult stage of growth, which meant one important thing: she was now large enough to ride in flight.
'Santa' hissed as another arrow streaked out from the blizzard, "Why couldn't have I just gotten him a goldfish?"
Things had been going fine; 'Santa' had dropped into the condo to drop off his gift as normal this year, entirely expecting the half-blood to be waiting for their annual scrap, but the condo was silent.
'Santa' hadn't bothered trying Armani's room to see if he were actually there, preferring to just thank the fates that he'd gotten the year off.
This had all changed when he had gotten back into his sleigh and taken flight and a bronze arrow had shot out from the clouds above and lacerated his right hand. A moment later the griffin had burst free of her cloud cover, the demigod crouched on her back, a quiver of arrows on his back and bow in hand.
Not using your own powers tonight, are we? Realised the old man, which meant he only had to keep ahead of the boy until his supply of arrows ran out.
His 'sleigh' was fast; he had dematerialised and reappeared several miles away, only for the griffin to erupt from the clouds below. It seemed to move after its prey in the sky like Artemis and her Hunters moved in the forest.
If it were daytime, or even dawn, he could have simply returned instantly to Olympus, but the dead of night severely limited his 'sleigh's' powers, and so he was left with little other recourse than to try and lose him in direct pursuit.
He cut free into a gap between some clouds and came to a standstill, eyes flicking about into the mist that surrounded him.
"Come on," he murmured, his voice changing back to its usual younger state for a moment, "where are you?"
His eyes traced the clouds, arrow drawn, waiting for a slight disturbance in the air. He also had to be careful he didn't score a lethal shot on the boy or his griffin.
Luckily for Armani, 'Santa' happened to be a half-decent shot.
He's stalking me, waiting for the right moment to strike.
A smile pulled at his lips; he really was his mother's son.
His blue eyes flicked about, constantly adjusting the aim of his bow as he swept the clouds that encircled him, the air cold and silent.
"Heart of the storm..." he muttered to himself.
His hearing alone was perfect for this situation; unless the boy could somehow fire off an arrow at twice the speed of sound - a feat way beyond someone of his strength - then he could simply shoot anything out of the air.
Everything seemed to move into slow motion as the tell-tale high pitched twang of a bowstring reached his ears, followed by the split in the clouds as an arrow twirled through the air towards him.
He leaned back, the arrow passing harmlessly by.
"You can't win this way!" shouted the man, his voice being enhanced so the boy would hear outside of that quiet spot.
He let his bow vanish after a moment once no further attacks came.
Out of arrows? Wondered the man in red.
He turned about, looking into the thick grey clouds.
Will you resort to using your own bow and arrows?
'Santa' smirked, no, that would be too simple. Knowing Armani, he'd probably resort to something else; something unexpected.
A bank of clouds parted with a whoosh of air as Armani erupted from cover above, going into free-fall and drawing his blade mid-air.
In a flash, 'Santa' had his own blade ready and leaned back to block the above head strike.
Jumped off... insane, but why would-
The old man's thoughts were cut short when, with a crash, the boy's griffin crashed into the side of his sleigh.
'Santa' reared back, gritting his teeth as the griffin dug her claws into the wood and snapped at the man.
Armani's blow found little resistance in his opponent's guard, the sword managing to leave a nasty cut on 'Santa's lower arm and the side of his chest.
'Santa's' blue eyes flashed blindingly with anger as he reared back and kicked the griffin free of his sleigh, taking a chunk of the side away in the process and sending the beast flailing away in momentary panic. Carrying on, he swung his foot around and slammed it down into the spot Armani had landed, missing by an inch as the demigod pushed himself up and jumped back, squatting down on the back of the sleigh defensively.
'Santa' glared at the injury on his arm and side, turning his gaze on the demigod, "Not bad." he almost snarled, his voice back in its younger state. Armani's brow twitched at the sound, eyes going to the golden blood on the floor as the old man continued, "but foolish to leave yourself without an escape route!" he snapped, summoning his bow and taking aim, loosing an arrow at the boy's shoulder.
Armani fell backwards off the rear of the sleigh to dodge, 'Santa' took a step forwards in surprise, but Tim had already regained her composure and plucked him out the air. The old man watched as she flicked the boy up out of her talon and onto her back again.
As the griffin banked upwards, the child leapt into a crouch, summoning his bow and levelling an arrow at his enemy.
The demigod pushed himself right to his feet to correct his aim as 'Santa' recalled his own bow and, as their aims and eyes met, suddenly the boy's legs buckled under him slightly.
The child's eyes widened in fear, a small gasp escaping from 'Santa's' mouth as the same exact thought passed through both their heads at the same time:
Oh, gods... not now!
The first wave of pain shot through the small demigod's body, a bright flash of silver light coming from his left side. He lost grip on his bow and then balance on his mount.
Tim let out a screech of panic as the boy went into free-fall.
'Santa' was already hot on his tail though. Speeding down after him, he grabbed hold of the boy's other arm, pulling his sleigh to a halt and dragging the thrashing boy inside.
He instantly pressed his hand onto his forehead and pushed him into unconsciousness. Tim landed with a crash on the edge of the sleigh, shrieking with fear and anger.
The man shot her a glare, "If you want to help just stay back and be quiet!"
She did a take and then whimpered slightly in compliance, crouched into a sitting position and rested her head down by the demigod.
"Stay away." said the old man as he drew off a glove, his wrinkled hand becoming youthful and smooth; it also began to glow with golden light.
The griffin let out a cry of shock and had to look away as the old man went to work attempting to repair the boy as best he could.
A moment later he stood to his feet and replaced his glove. He shook his head, "getting harder each time..."
Tim cawed sadly and leaned in to sniff the boy, 'Santa' reaching up to scratch her mane, "Don't worry, girl, he'll be fine."
The old man's eyes widened in fear as he sensed something else on the edge of his consciousness approaching quickly and, again, found himself thinking:
Not now!
He looked about himself in a panic, eyes settling on his enchanted bag.
He inclined his head at the griffin, "Sorry about this, girl."
Tim let out a questioning squawk just as she was engulfed in the sack, which had mystically enlarged itself to encompass her large mass.
He patted down on the side as she thrashed about violently inside, "Be quiet! Sweet Hades, can you pipe down for just a moment!" he hissed. The sack went still, the griffin letting out a sad caw before going quiet.
'Santa' picked up the boy. Glancing about desperately, he lifted up the lid of his seat and tucked him inside. He sat down and calmly folded his hands in his lap, a new hat reappearing on his head as the damage to the sleigh fixed itself.
His blue eyes surveyed the clouds around him and, just as he was starting to think that perhaps his senses were playing tricks on him, he heard the sound of someone snapping their fingers just once.
Abruptly, the clouds for a mile surrounding him seemed to explode in a burst of air pressure, clearing the entire sky about the sleigh and revealing another similar sight hovering nearby, glowing gently in the silver moonlight.
Artemis stood in her chariot, regarding 'Santa' with a blank expression.
'Santa' coughed once nervously, plastered his best 'jolly' smile on his face, and said, "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, little girl!"
Artemis didn't respond, though one of her eyebrows did raise up slightly.
'Santa' shuffled, "And what can Santa do for you?"
"..." Artemis remained silent, her brow creasing slowly into a frown, fingers drumming slowly on the edge of her chariot.
"...And... What would you like for Christmas this year?"
Finally, she sighed, "Brother... what are you doing?"
'Santa' laughed, "Why, what ever could you be talking about? I'm not your devilishly handsome brother, I'm Santa Claus."
Artemis scowled, "I'm going to count to ten…"
'Santa' rolled his eyes, his voice immediately changing back to that of a young man, "Oh, come on, sis. You know I hate it when you do that."
Artemis inclined her head, "Very well, then I-" she paused and shook her head, "For Zeus' sake, change back to your regular gormless self."
"B-but I-"
Artemis cut him off, "I refuse to talk to you in that ridiculous guise. Change now."
'Santa' let out a defeated sigh, his body shifting into a much more slender form, clothes shaping into a simple pair of jeans and tee-shirt with a long leather coat, the old face changing to that of a blonde haired young man. Apollo inclined his head, "There, satisfied?"
"With you, never, but it's an improvement."
Apollo sighed again, "What is it you want, Sister?"
"Like I was saying, brother; what are you doing?"
He blinked, "I- I'm afraid I don't understand."
Artemis frowned, "I permit you imitate the image of my chariot for the sake of you carrying out this ridiculous annual show of sentimentality to your children, and yet here you are, well after midnight, when the balance of the night is already shifting away from me and back to you, still using my chariot's image."
"That's why you came out here? Fine, since it bothers you so..." he tapped the edge of his sleigh and it immediately morphed, shifting forms, the reindeer vanishing as the wooden form shaped into a red convertible with Apollo standing on the front seat, the large sack resting on the back.
Apollo's eyes flicked nervously to the boy laying on the floor on the passenger side and back to his sister, "Better?"
Artemis nodded.
Apollo narrowed his eyes at her, "Now was that all? It seems a bit weird for you to come out of your way just to remind me that it's after twelve."
Artemis regarded him for a moment, "No, it's not, as my question still stands; what are you doing?" her tone was genuinely questioning and Apollo could see she was somewhat confused about something.
Apollo plastered his best nonchalant look and shrugged, "Just what I do every year; I get some presents, dress up and drop 'em off at my kids' houses. I was just heading back."
Artemis narrowed her eyes in thought as she spoke, "I sensed it... I sensed you unleash a large amount of your power for some reason. What were you up to?"
Apollo narrowed his eyes back. Normally she wouldn't be able to sense or monitor him under regular circumstances. His eyes flicked for a second back to the demigod, "Nothing that you need concern yourself about." he said, worrying for an instant that she had sensed the boy.
She looked at her brother critically, her hand drifting to her lower chest unconsciously, and said in a somewhat faraway tone, "...you're hiding something from me. I don't know what, I don't know how I know, but I knowyou're hiding something."
Apollo just smirked, "Sis, I'm always hiding something from you. Would you really like to know each and every naughty little thing I get up to?"
Artemis frowned, "Hardly"
The sun god's smirk widened, "Are you sure? I mean it's not like we get to talk often and, oh I could regale you with a tale or two..."
Artemis shot him a dark look, "If you'll excuse me, brother..."
"Oh, going so soon? Can't you at least wait to hear about this cute little water naiad I met last week!"
She turned away and prepared to leave when Apollo suddenly spoke up, "Wait, sis…"
Artemis hesitated and glanced sideways at him, "What is it?"
Apollo seemed to pause, as if thinking how to phrase it, "If there were something I could give you for Christmas, hypothetically that is, what would you want?"
Artemis was quiet for a moment, and then replied in a solemn tone, "If there were something I secretly yearned for…It's not something you could ever give me." And without another word, the goddess vanished, leaving the sun god alone in the skies.
Apollo sank down into his seat.
His eyes drifted to the demigod sleeping on the floor and, in that instant, for the first time since he had found the boy as an infant, he felt his resolve to prevent his sister from knowing his secret waver.
He pushed the sentiment aside. He could tell that a day would come when she would discover the truth, and he would face the consequences that day would bring, but that day was not today...
to be continued...
[A/N] again, one I tried to get out yesterday. Honestly, it seems technology is plotting to stop me getting this story out in time, but regardless, that's that for another day and hoped you enjoyed it. Starting next chapter, things will be changing, for the first time the next one will not be the year after this chapter and in fact we'll be skipping ahead. So I'll see you all next time.
Catch you in Chapter 7: 2010