yay ;) So this is Chapter 8 of our story and well, I hope you like it amanda ;) And, yes, Trudian is canon (y) 3 haha ;) ye ~ isar, steph and mee {saima}
Chapter 8 ~ Lysandra
After Elektra and Rosamynd went off, Lysandra was stuck walking with Enryx, alone. A few minutes passed - it felt like hours. Enryx broke the silence. "Lysandra? Can we talk?"
"Uh, sure!"
"I don't know, it seems like you have been avoiding me, an-"
"Avoiding you? Me? Me avoiding you?" Lysandra spat out sarcastically, stopping abruptly to turn around and stare at Enryx. "I'm sorry- was I the one who spent ages hanging out at the Aphrodite Table, while the rest of my friends- my only friends- were hanging out alone. I'm so, so sorry." She turned back and started walking forward frustrated, only stopping when she heard Enryx running after her.
"Lysandra! Lys!"
"What?" She said, not turning to face him.
"Look, I wa-" Once again he was cut off, but this time by the 'pitter-patter' of the rain falling gently on their shoulders, and heads.
"Argh," Enryx groaned, and Lysandra giggled to herself, forgetting all about their fight.
"Look I'm sorry that I was ignoring you, I just didn't know what to say to you, after... you know."
"Yes, I know- after you being all sexist."
"I'm sorry, okay?" He said, resignedly putting his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I know it was stupid, and I was a jerk, okay. I'm sorry!" Lysandra scoffed, looking away from him. Enryx brushed his fingers through his hair, then started again. "And I should not have said that girls can't fight, hunt or protect themselves." Lysandra turned to look at him, her death glare calming down. "Because they can hunt, and fight, okay?"
"Okay." Lysandra subtly replied, looking down.
"Alright," He smiled, and Lysandra unwillingly felt her heart melt. She missed being best friends with him. She missed him, period- and she couldn't help but turn around then lean in and hug him, awkwardly. He was surprised at first, but he recovered and returned the hug.
"Oh, Lys... I- Elektra and I missed you," Lysandra felt Enryx murmur softly against the crown of her head.
She smiled and replied, "I missed you guys, too."
"Once again, I'm sorry, can you please forgive me?" Lysandra nodded and smiled, then pulled away from the warm embrace.
"Awl!" She heard a voice behind her, and reluctantly turned around.
"Rosamynd!" Lys exclaimed.
"Are you guys together as well?"
"No, um...we're not together." Enryx hastily stepped away from Lysandra, who felt a pang of sadness.
"Why not? You guys make a cute couple!" Elektra followed behind the ginger godling, her eyes leaning in satisfaction. Lysandra smiled grew wider, a bubble of laughter threatening to burst out of her.
"Well, we're just friends," Enryx's cheeks flamed up, moving away further from Lysandra.
"Yeah. Just friends." Lysandra added quickly.
"Well, we are more than friends," Adrian said, appearing at the edge of the hill, holding hands with Trudy, who was wearing a huge grin on her face.
"Oh, are we now?" Trudy said, laughing at him.
Rosamynd looked away, earning concerned glances from Lysandra and Elektra. Trudy had her now wet dark-brown hair up in a ponytail, with a white rose tucked in behind her ear.
"We should find shelter," Elektra looked up at the sky, "It's raining pretty hard." Everyone else nodded and followed her towards the camp.
By the time they got back their camp, dinner was about to begin and they were soaked in rain and their shoes and the hems of their pants were caked with mud.
"This is why it's such a pain to go outside boundaries," Adrian complained, "No more perfect weather."
"Whatever," Lysandra shrugged, " I don't mind the rain..." Lysandra looked bewilderedly at the surrounding five godlings, who were staring at her with an extremely confused expression on their face. "What?! The rain is calming!"
"So piercing sharp stings on your skin is calming? You're the goddess of cats, for goodness sake!" Rosamynd shot back incredulously.
Lysandra shrugged, "Feline creatures, actually. I'm the goddess of Feline Creatures."
"...Isn't that the same?"
"No."
"But, it-"
"No."
The mess hall doors opened up and the godlings ran into the vast room, thankful for the dryness and shelter. Lysandra sat with her few cabin mates, generally disinterested in their conversation and busying herself in feeding little Annie, much to the disliking of her brother, Aaron - though he was too busy studying his magic book. There was a sudden yelp from Annie.
"Ahh!"
"What is it, Annie?"
"Mwy toof! Its bwoken!" Annie cried, sobbing slightly pointing at her mouth.
"What? Say Ahh!" Lysandra gently cupped her hand under Annie's chin as Annie opened her mouth up wide. "Which tooth?" Annie pointed to one of her front teeth.
"It's not broken, sweetie, it's just wobbly!"
"Cwan you fwix it wiv mwagic?"
Lysandra was taken aback by Annie's magical request but laughed. "It's not fixable, Annie. It's a sign that you're growing up! Besides, the tooth fairy will visit you in your sleep and leave you a special something!"
Annie squealed in delight, giggling happily and scooping a big spoon of ice cream. Lysandra smiled and patted the young demigod's head fondly, and got up to take a walk.
"Where you going?" Annie asked, her mouth full of ice cream as Lys stood up.
"To take a walk!" Lysandra replied, stooping down and ruffling Annie's hair "I'll be back, okay?"
"Okay." Annie frowned, scooping up more ice cream, scorching up next to her older brother.
She was in high spirits when she stepped out onto the cool, fresh evening air. The rain had slowed into a slight drizzle. This was the worst kind - sharp and cold, splattering down your face in patches, and not just completely drenching you, which was the way Lys preferred it. Regardless, she kept walking, wanting to catch the sun before it sunk into the broad horizon. It's so peaceful here. Lysandra stopped at the crest of Half Blood Hill, leaning against the pine tree but staying a safe distance from the dragon, soaking in the last rays of sunlight. Just like that, the light disappeared behind the valley. Lysandra stared up at the moon, tranced by it's cold beauty. I wonder how many moons it has been since I left...
Lysandra stiffened, her keen ears picking up activity beyond the border. She dove into the bush, keeping out of sight. There were slashing sounds coming from over the clump of trees about ten feet away from her. She peeked her head out, and right next to the pine tree, there was someone hacking away at the border. Lysandra reached into her bag and slipped her dagger into her hand, trying really hard not to make a sound. Without warning, an arrow whistled towards her face. Lysandra had barely any time to react; she leapt up from her hiding place and charged at the border, completely forgetting about the immortals-need-permission-to-cross-borders rule. The person, who Lysandra now identified as a girl around her own age, looked at her with a cold expression. A symbol that was scribbled on her body was glowing, and Lysandra was thrown backwards, crashing into some bushes.
"Are you crazy?" The girl hissed at Lys, "if you cross that border, neither of us can get in!"
"Oh," realization stuck Lysandra, "You're a godling, aren't you?"
"Who are you anyway?"
"Who are you?" Lysandra interrogated the mysterious person, who was threading a long bow staff back into the sheath strapped to her back.
"I asked you first!"
"Well you're the one trying to get into Camp Half-Blood!"
"Just let me in and I'll explain!"
"What if I can't trust you?"
"You're going to have to wait and see," The godling scowled, "Just let me in!"
Lysandra smirked, "First, your name?"
The intruder's frown grew deeper. "Vytoni," She spat, "Vytoni Skia, Daughter of Morpheus and Hecate."
"Wait," Lysandra blinked confusedly, "You're a daughter of Hecate? I thought I knew all my siblings!"
"Well, obviously you don't!" Vytoni smiled a cold, hard smile, "And I'm surprised you didn't figure that out. That must have been your first experience of combat magic."
"Woah," Lysandra breathed, "I've read about combat magic! Wow, I'm surprised I haven't figured that out either."
"You should see what else it can do - That was nothing. I'm better at handling weaponry, though," Vytoni shrugged, then scowled again, "And are you going to let me through or not?"
"Oh, right. Sorry," Lysandra quickly muttered an entry permit and let the other godling in. When the girl fully stepped into the moonlight, Lysandra was able to see her properly. She had symbols and runes scribbled all over her, but what struck Lysandra was all those... weapons. There were around five visible ones, and they all looked very painful. Very, very painful.
"So, uh," Lys swallowed uncertainly, "Do you want me to show you where the Hecate cabin is?"
"Yeah, whatever," Vytoni shrugged, and they started for the cabins, where Lys saw the crowd dispersing after those campfire songs and activities. They quietly slipped past the crowd and walked to cabin 20. Vytoni flung her small knapsack of things onto one of the bunks and looked around, occasionally picking things up for a closer look.
"It's kind of neat here, isn't it," Lysandra was the first one to break the silence.
Vytoni murmured her agreement, still being generally unwilling to strike up a conversation, much to Lys' frustration.
"Wyssie!" Lysandra turned and looked down to see Annie running towards her. She bent down to give her a warm embrace. She pulled away and laughed - Annie had ice cream all over her face.
"She was worried about you," Aaron gruffed, "So I had to bring her back here. Who is this?" His beady narrowed at the sight of the newcomer. Vytoni ignored him and continued unpacking the load in her knapsack.
"Um...she's our sister!"
"Oh, gods! Mum has got to stop breeding!" Aaron complained, rolling eyes. The cabin counsellor, who had just walked in, gagged and turned to go back outside. Lysandra couldn't help but roll her eyes. What a drama queen. Annie giggled, and pretty soon, Lys was laughing with her. Vytoni and Annie's brother just stared at them as if they'd gone mad. Maybe I am.
Pretty soon, everyone else from cabin 20 had come and settled in. Fondly, Lysandra thought about how they seemed like family to her now, even though the feeling probably wasn't mutual - except for maybe Annie.
"Stowy Time!" Annie announced. Everyone groaned- Lysandra chose a fairy-tale from their bookshelf and sat next to the toddler who was perched in her little beanbag next to her bed.
"Story time?" Vytoni asked.
"We all take turns to tell a story to Annie and the others," Aaron explained, "Every night."
They finished the story in time for the magic torches outside the cabin to go out, as it always did at curfew. After the story, everyone rushed to their beds but Annie was left struggling to get onto hers. Aaron helped her, tucked her in and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. Lysandra put down her book, and curled up in bed. The cabin was dark except for the little light coming from the moon, which only Lysandra's feline eyes could make out. She was about to close her eyes, when something caught her eye. She squinted at Vytoni's bedside, where something silver was glinting. She hid a gasp of surprise, cautious not wake anyone. Very slowly, she got out of bed and creeped up to the twinkling object. She held it up so she can see it more clearly. It can't be.
"If your thoughts can speak for themselves, they would reflect your exact expression." Lysandra whirled around and saw Vytoni, who was not asleep, but reading a book. She suddenly felt shameful.
"Look," Lysandra frantically sought for a way to get herself out of this mess, "I don't normally look through other people's stuff. I just... That circlet just seems familiar."
"It is," Vytoni gave Lysandra a sort of piteous smile, "I am lieutenant of Artemis' Hunt. You can say... I replaced you."
All at once, Lysandra felt the wind get knocked out of her. She managed a small, "Oh," before faking a smile and stumbling back to bed. She collapsed back onto her bunk, deep into her thoughts.
It was inevitable. I should have seen it coming.
She has replaced me.
~~~END OF CHAPTER 8~~~