Chapter 36 ~ Nethrys
"All this began when my father, Lord Hermes, has sent me on an errand to Camp Half-Blood with a message to Chiron, though refusing to tell me what it was about. On the way there, I met Lysandra and Adrian and we traveled there together. Once there, after finding Chiron, I told him the message from my father," She turned her head to glance at Hermes, then quickly looked back at Zeus, "sent me to tell him. Chiron led me into the attic, where the Oracle of Delphi recited a four line stanza of a poem. Chiron told me that it was a part of a prophecy."
Lysandra tapped Rosamynd on the shoulder and handed her the notebook Lys was always scribbled in. Rosamynd cleared her throat and began to recite the prophecy:
"Nine godlings must unite,
and plunge into darkness and the night.
To face their own greatest fear,
and lose a loved one they once held dear.
"Soon after that, there was a cyclopes attack near the border and it was attacking two people. We then later learned that they were Godlings too - Enryx and Elektra.
"Shortly after, we met Trudy, who was masquerading as a demigod in Camp Half-blood. By then, we were only missing three Godlings to begin our quest: Vytoni, Nethrys and Katerina."
Lysandra took over from there, stepping up while Rosamynd somewhat gratefully returned to her place between Lys and Adrian, "Vytoni came to the border soon afterwards, and I let her in. That night, Adrian had a dream vision of a girl being attacked by a monster. Vytoni, Adrian, Elektra and I went to check -you know, just in case it was true, as most dreams turn out to be- and the girl happened to be Katerina, my sister. While we were gone, the others played capture the flag, where they met Kyle, a son of Poseidon. It was Kyle who realized that Enryx and Elektra were Roman Godlings. When we returned with an injured Katerina, Kyle started having a fit soon after, and spoke of a dream simulation where he was drowning. During this whole time, Nethrys has been overseeing three demigods on their very first quest. He returned just after Kyle had the fear phantom attack."
"The next day," Adrian cut in, interrupting an annoyed Lysandra, "We set off for a quest, where Chiron gave us a book regarding the fear phantoms, which we found out belonged to Phobos, and quite obviously so. Katerina recalled her father meeting with the God of Fear, and so we iris-messaged Hades, who told them that he last saw him with Nyx somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona.
"On the way to Phoenix, we encountered an Erymanthian Boar and her pig-spawn," Ares sat up a little, a small sneer settling on his scarred features as he heard his sacred animal being ridiculed by them, and especially his son, "But other than that and an Iris-message from Chiron, who delivered a second prophecy, we made it to Phoenix, and-"
"The prophecy!" Enryx hissed, handing a red-faced Adrian a piece of parchment containing the second part of the prophecy.
"Oh, right," Adrian cleared his throat, then began:
"You must face others like yourselves
In family history you must delve
There's no need to scour the earth and seek
For your deadline arrives at winter's peak.
"Yeah. Anyways, in Phoenix, we divided into three groups to search for Phobos. I went with Vytoni and Elektra to Casa Grande, a national monument and ancient ruin. However, it all went south from there, as our tour guide turned out to be Euryale, the gorgon, and we brought down one of the roofs. Vytoni took a little snake for a souvenir. Just remember that because it's gonna be important. Oh, that's right, me and Elektra ("Elektra and I!" Lysandra corrected) owe you a hundred drachmas."
Nemesis looked quite proud of her son for keeping up his end of the bargain, while Demeter and Hera could be seen shaking heads and tutting quietly. "Back to our topic," Nethrys stepped forward before they got too distracted, "Trudy, Lysandra and I hiked up to the abandoned Sunflower mines, which went pretty badly, too. We were ambushed by an army of crazy rats, but we made it out alive, though Trudy got an infected rat bite on her ankle - but no worries, she's still here, isn't she?" Nethrys added quickly at the sight of Aphrodite's picture perfect face make a horrified gasp.
"My turn," Katerina piped up, tugging Nethrys' torn sleeve. He let her take the limelight, a little afraid to admit he felt better next to Vytoni again, who didn't really seem to be listening, and was watching everyone with suspicious scrutiny, "Enryx, Rosamynd and I went to Copenhaver castle - or, at least we tried to. At the time, we hadn't realized that the castle only appeared in the nighttime. So after sunset, the three of us returned to the castle, and was greeted by Edna, Nyx's servant. Nyx welcomed us to dinner, and she spoke of Phobos' whereabouts, who was last seen in Florida, and her son, William - who, until recently, was believed to be son of Phobos," Katerina shot a quick look at William and smiled apologetically.
"That night," Elektra continued, "We got another prophecy. Uh, hold on -I know I had it somewhere-" Elektra rustled in her satchel for the prophecy, until Lysandra gave Elektra her copy, "Thanks. Uh, okay.
"From now on you must journey east
Mind the dragon when you expect it least
Your trust will fall into the dark shadows
One mistake and you'll give into your sorrows.
"Later, I had a dream vision about William -who was our enemy at the time,- and Courtney. Afterwards, I received a rude awakening from Lamia. We eventually took care of the problem with the help of Hecate-" Elektra nodded towards the Goddess of Magic with gratitude, and got one in return, "-but that wasn't even the least of our troubles. Trudy had a fear simulation as well, which completes the prophecy line 'you must face your greatest fears'. We went to the market to, you know, grab provisions, and met Scar-Scarlett," Elektra choked up again when she mentioned her fallen friend, trying to fight back tears, "Anyways, she joined us on our quest."
"The next day," Rosamynd was speaking again, "My father, Hermes, arrived to visit us about the fourth prophecy, and it goes like this,
"One shall give life for the greater good,
One will give in, as darkness should.
From the unexpected, the quest completed
Eleven united, should fear be diminished.
"Later on, we were ambushed by a small army, led by William, Courtney and Logan, all of whom we met for the first time in real life. They fled, and Katerina theorized that the line from the third prophecy, about the shadows, was referring to William. We created a small plan to ambush them. We kidnapped him, and took him back to the caravan, though he actually didn't know anything at all."
"We were attacked again," Nethrys added, "And the caravan was destroyed, so we went to a nearby hotel, which was actually a lair for the Lotus eaters," Nethrys felt heat rising on his face and quickly quelled it, though he thought he saw Aphrodite stifle a giggle, "And we were delayed, and stayed almost a whole season there. By then, we only had a little over a week left.
"We stayed at a different motel, and Katerina also got the fearscape simulation. By then, William had agreed to join our team and help us defeat Courtney and Logan. We had William pretend to kidnap Trudy and bring her to the hideout, then to Iris-message us the location. It was a risky plan, but we were running out of time, so we really had not much of a choice.
"Then we met the Goddess of Starvation, Limos, who provided us with transportation. William left with Trudy, and we set for Florida in the food truck, where we got in a battle with the Leucrocotae, and the truck was, too, destroyed," Nethrys winced, feeling Limos's outraged glare searing into the back of his neck.
"Anyways," Adrian quickly cut in, "We stayed at a trailer park and got an Iris-message from William that night, telling us to go to an island in Florida Keys, and Mist-hidden lair. We went first thing the next morning, where we requested transport from Chiron. Chiron called in a favor from Camp Fish-Blood who sent us a ship with Kyle as the sailor- the demigod we met earlier on, remember? Yeah, so he soon found the island, and we got off and armed ourselves full of new armor and stuff, and found Dragon cave. And we went inside and quickly knocked out Logan and rescued Trudy, but was intercepted by an armada of monsters called the "Fear Army", led by Courtney and Logan."
Trudy touched his arm, and Adrian stepped back again, passing the attention to Trudy, "We fought long and hard, but eventually started to be overtaken, so Katerina used the necklace Hades gave her to summon skeleton warriors, who helped us defeat the army. We followed Vytoni, Adrian and Nethrys, who had pursuited a fleeing Courtney and Logan earlier, and we were fighting in the dungeons, when a spirit in ghostly white appeared, and once again, Courtney and Logan fled-"
"Cowards," Ares muttered, and Nethrys had to agree with him.
"-and left us to confront the White lady. We soon learned that she controlled the elements, as she nearly drowned us by filling up the dungeon with water. Then she set fire to the library, leaving us to escape via jumping down a window."
"But at the courtyard," Elektra filled in, "The earth itself started to attack us, and so as chunks of earth started to fly up, we landed on the roof, where the Ghost herself started attacking us with air sprites. Katerina had to use her necklace again, this time summoning the Hysminai, the spirits of battle. They quickly dispatched the Ghost lady with the help of a poisonous snake, which was in fact the stone bracelet cut off from Euryale. Courtney and Logan returned, where we fought to the death. Literally," Elektra's voice broke, and Enryx laid a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder, "We lost Scarlett, because she was mortal and was taken down by Logan's stygian spear. Therefore the only one the prophecy could have referred to as the dead one. Logan and Courtney's essence is returned to Tartarus, where they will suffer eternal damnation."
"But that wasn't the end." Lysandra took over, her voice a little too steady, "Before Courtney died, she had given her essence to a nearby tree, turning it dark as... uh, the dark and produce evil spirits, the fear phantoms, which feeds people their worst fears, and takes energy from them. It had a guardian, a demonic Nemean Lion, but we fought it off and eventually took care of the tree. And now... here we are."
There was an uneasy silence as the Gods murmured quietly to each other.
"First things first," To Nethrys' surprise, Aphrodite was the first to reach a decision - and by the sad look in her beautiful eyes, he could only guess too well what it was about. "The girl."
"It's only two in the morning," Hermes commented, "So you have plenty of time to go to Washington DC and tell her parents the news," He eyed the Godlings, who nodded in agreement. "And then it is up to you if you want to have a shroud for the mortal."
"We do." Surprisingly enough, it was Vytoni who spoke up to the God of Thieves. Nethrys stared at her, feeling his face contort into a confused expression. Vytoni gazed around the room; her eyes stopped on Nethrys' for a split second, and gave him a small, kinda sad smile that didn't quite reach her eyes - but then, they never did.
"Well then, it is decided. You will go to Washington, DC and tell them the news, then come back to Camp Half-Blood, where the funeral pyre will take place," Hermes looked at them, and the Godlings, by instinct, nodded fast.
"Apollo, accompany them to Washington DC. Make sure they get there safely and if they need any help explaining to the girl's parents about her... gifts and death, you'll be there." Zeus decided, his lightning bolt letting out a couple of sparks. Apollo looked sideways towards his father and nodded, grinning slightly at the Godlings and basically blinding them with his unbelievably white teeth. Nethrys could spot Trudy blush furiously, as she obviously couldn't resist Apollo's charm. But the instant their eyes met, the look on his face told her to snap out of it.
"Of course, Lord Zeus," Apollo replied.
"Say your quick goodbyes to your parents and leave for Washington immediately." Zeus ordered.
"Quick goodbyes?!" Adrian complained, "I haven't seen mom or dad for months! What a heartless, cruel-"
"Hey," Vytoni jabbed him with a finger -very hard, by the looks of Adrian's whimper- "You're lucky you can talk to them at all."
"Why be so touchy?" Nethrys intervened, quietly amused by the sudden role reversal between Adrian and himself, "It's not like your parents are gone - oh." Just then, he realized that Hecate was talking to Lysandra and Katerina, who were listening in rapt attention, and Morpheus was gone, his black hood over his face and hidden somewhere in the crowd. To his right, Enyo was approaching with Momus in tow. Suddenly, Nethrys had an idea that would either work very well or get him a black eye.
"C'mon," Nethrys hesitantly held his hand out to her, "You can come meet mine." Vytoni stared at his overturned palm for several long moments, until Enyo came up behind Nethrys and clapped him on the shoulder and he awkwardly lowered his hand. At least she didn't hit me.
Vytoni raised a skeptical eyebrow, before Enyo made a made an ungainly attempt at breaking the ice, "So, this your girlfriend?"
Nethrys cringed in fought the urge to bury his head in his hands. The one thing she could have said to make it worse. "No, this is Vytoni. She's a- just a... friend. Anyways, I just thought you would like to meet her."
"Actually, we've met," Vytoni cut in, "I've worked with Enyo before, as we're somewhat connected to the subject of warfare. In fact, I think I gave her your sword."
"Sword?" Enyo's brow furrowed in confusion as Nethrys shook his head frantically behind his mother's back.
She doesn't know I stole it... she doesn't know I stole it...
"Never mind," Vyt shrugged, "Must've been the wrong God."
"How're you doing, son?" Momus shook Nethrys' hand and gave him a tired half-smile, which looked odd on his, angular, elfish features.
"Fine, dad." Nethrys gave him a weary smile, suddenly aware of how tired he was. And we still have to tell Scarlett's parents about... her. Unexpectedly, a fresh wave of shock and grief shook him, reminding him of his friend's sacrifice... to him. It's all my fault.
Vytoni must have sensed it, because she quickly bade his parents goodbye and led him back to the throne room, where Hecate could be seen embracing Vyt's half-sisters. Hecate raised her head and waved at her remaining daughter with one hand, and Vytoni returned the gesture with a brief smile, before returning her attention to Zeus, who was waiting quite impatiently for them. Rosamynd was laughing alongside Hermes, so it seems like all has been forgiven between them. Hephaestus seemed to be quickly jotting into a notebook while he was talking to Trudy. He then gave the notebook to her and smiled his not-so-pleasant grin. Trudy flipped through the notebook, her face morphing into fascination and shock. Must be some of Hephaestus' secret designs. Adrian was next to Ares and rolling his eyes at him as he flexed and tensed his muscles. Katerina was sharing a quick hug with Hades and Persephone. Lysandra was still talking to Hecate in hushed voices in the corner. Apollo had his two arms around Elektra and Enryx and they were laughing hysterically about something.
"We'll travel by Sun Chariot." Apollo announced, interrupting everyone's hasty goodbyes.
"Just a moment," Nemesis sighed, walking up to Vytoni, "Here. My son is out of drachmas." She dumped about fifty coins into Vyt's hand, walking away and grumbling about kids not knowing how to repay debts.
"Anyways," Apollo flashed another blinding smile, "It's off to Washington, DC!"
The chariot ride wasn't as fun as the myths or stories said they were.
It was bumpy, for one. For a chariot that can change into any car, any time, it sure didn't have a lot of regard for safety.
Nethrys slept most of the car ride - or tried to, as the random jolts constantly woke him.
Soon, they rattled to a halt, and Nethrys stumbled out, secretly glad that most people were feeling more car sick then he was - Katerina even looked a little green. The golden chariot had stopped in front of a row of identical houses; each house was a two-storey building with eggshell-coloured walls and a sandy brown roof. The row of houses stretched
"Chestwood Street, just have to find Ashburn Avenue and house number '23'," Apollo announced as he stepped out of the Golden Chariot. All the girls (except Elektra) immediately turned to look in his direction; though Vyt only flashed a quick glance before taking swords out of thin air and strapping on her belt. Nethrys couldn't blame them really; there was no doubt he was attractive to women with his sandy hair, a bright cocky smile, and outdoorsy good looks. He had changed out of his Godly form into his normal late-twenties look, wearing a white, sleeveless T-shirt, blue jeans, and loafers. "Follow me."
They followed the God alongside the suburban street, where they were shadowed by the big houses and looming trees. There was a thin layer of snow covering the concrete pavements and the roofs of the houses. They walked along Chestwood street and turned a right onto Ashburn Avenue. Nethrys was almost jogging at the front, feeling restless after the long car ride. Fresh snow crunched under his feet, and children threw snowballs from forts, theirs peals of laughter ringing in the cold air.
Somehow, this made Nethrys a little sad. I've never had a normal childhood - though mostly because I was never exactly even a child. A mortal one, at least. In fact, Nethrys was pretty sure he was taught to swing a sword before he could even walk.
They strolled past the row of neat, trimmed houses with pretty gardens and white picket fences. Apollo stopped in front of one of the houses with the number '23' printed onto the mailbox. Just as he was about to enter the house, Apollo paused and looked up with an almost comical expression on his face - as if he was going to burst into a song. Turns, out, Nethrys wasn't that far off. "This is the perfect time to write a haiku."
"Um, Apollo. I don't think this is the time..." Lysandra stuttered, but Apollo didn't reply and was mumbling words under his breath and counting his fingers. The Godlings waited for a while before he cleared his throat and proudly recited:
"Big houses everywhere,
Look there is a bird flying,
We have work to do."
Nethrys raised an eyebrow at Apollo, wondering if he could take this guy for real. How did he ever get such an important title if he's always so goofy? Mentally shaking himself, Nethrys stared at the brass door knocker for for a long moment before Vytoni huffed in impatience and brushed him aside, rapping the ring herself.
A woman opened the door. She was very pretty, for a lady in her mid-forties, but that wasn't what took their breath away. She had creamy, pale skin, pale blue eyes and long, strawberry-blonde hair. She looked exactly like Scarlett would have (except the highlights) if they had left her to her mortal life and grew up. Once again, Nethrys felt a stab of pain as he remembered her dead body slumped on the ground, inches away from him.
"Mrs. Burke," Katerina greeted the woman at the door politely, but her voice shook and her turquoise eyes were aimed at the fancy doormat, unwilling to meet Scarlett's mother's mildly confused gaze.
"May I help you?" She even sounded like Scarlett, but with more sophistication. Even Apollo was sombre, as he formally introduced himself and the Godlings. Mrs. Burke must have sensed something was amiss, because as she glanced at their downcast expressions she immediately invited inside.
They entered the house, which for some strange reason, was a lot bigger in the inside.
"What's this about?" Mrs Burke asked as she led us into the lounge; where two L-shaped sofas were plopped in front of a gigantic TV screen which was currently airing a kids program. Nethrys couldn't see her at first but sitting in front of the TV, curled up on the sofa was a little boy, probably around four or five years old. He had tousled platinum blond hair and was wearing a batman shirt and some checkered pants. "Scott, honey. Can you go watch TV in your room please?"
"Ice cream." Scott simply stated as he jumped off the couch.
"I'll get you some ice cream later, Scott. Just go to your room for a little while, okay?" Scott nodded in agreement and bolted out of the room.
"So, what's this about?" Mrs Burke asked once more as she gestured for the Godlings and Apollo to sit down as she did opposite them. They all melted into the soft couch in exhaustion, but tried to maintain a business-like figure.
"Maybe it'd be best if Mr Burke was around to hear this news." Apollo said to her, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
Mrs Burke pressed an intercom button on the coffee table and spoke into the speaker. "Honey, some visitors are here and need to speak to us. Come down to the lounge, please." She released pressure on the button and smiled at us.
A few minutes later, Mr Burke entered the room. He was wearing a trench coat over his tailored suit and his black oxford shoes were completely soaked from trudging in the snow. "I came here as quick as I could. What's going on?" He walked up to Mrs Burke and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Mr Burke laid his briefcase on glass coffee table between them and leaned back on his armchair.
"What did you want to tell us?" Mrs Burke repeated, growing impatient. Her left leg was crossed over her right and her arms were rested on her thighs. She was fidgeting slightly, and Nethrys assumed that she always did when she was nervous or impatient.
"It's about Scarlett." Apollo said softly, look down at the carpeted floor.
"Are you guys her friends from boarding school? What happened?"
Nobody met Mrs. Burke's piercing gaze, but Nethrys forced his head up and told them, as gently as he could, about Scarlett's death.
"Scarlett is... special," Apollo began awkwardly, and after realizing that most people use that term for "disabled" he quickly added, " In a good way. Really. She can uh... see things that normal people can't."
Oh my Gods, Nethrys inwardly groaned, There is no way this could get worse.
"He means that Scarlett has a diverse way of thinking," Elektra interrupted her father, "Anyway, she was assaulted, about several weeks ago."
"Assaulted?"
"Uh, yeah... but we stopped it -I mean, him- and, um. We sorta offered for her to come with us and we could bring her here. She accepted, and-"
"Hold on, son," Mr. Burke narrowed his eyes. He pointed at Apollo, "Sure, you're in your twenties, thirties, but those kids look like they belong to high school." He pointed at Rosamynd, who was youngest, "And you're definitely under fourteen. Why weren't you kids in school?"
Nethrys swallowed uneasily, unsure whether to answer, but Apollo smoothly cut in, "Oh, we don't believe in governed education. They're home schooled. I'm their chaperone. Or teacher. Well technically, I'm just their legal guardian..." Nethrys resisted the strong urge to smash his head on the ornate coffee table, "So yeah. Anyways, she came with us. We were on a road trip around America, so she tagged along. She learned a lot. More than whatever school could have taught her."
Mr. Burke muttered under his breath what sounded suspiciously like "Hippie." Nethrys rolled his eyes, but Apollo started to glow. Literally. Elektra quickly placed a hand on her dad's shoulder, her mouth set in a thin line.
"Right," Lysandra sighed, "Okay. Well, yesterday, something happened. Something very, very bad. We were caught in a... you could say a cult fight. And Scarlett... was caught in the middle of the cross fire."
"No she wasn't," Nethrys had no idea what made him speak up, but he felt that Scarlett's parent needed to know the real reason of Scarlett's death. Or, a slightly veiled version of the truth, "She died... for me. I didn't see the blade, but she jumped in front of me. If not for her death, I wouldn't be here."
Mrs. Burke's eyes filled with tears, her delicate, perfectly manicured hands trembling slightly, "In all due respect, I think I would have preferred her alive than you. I mean, no offence, but I hardly know you."
Nethrys opened his mouth, getting angry not with Mrs. Burke, but with himself. But before he could say anything, a hand pushed off his shoulder. Nethrys turned, and to his surprise, Vytoni was stood up next to him, one hand protectively on his shoulder, the other in a fist.
"Listen, Mrs. Burke," Vytoni practically spat out, "You have no idea what he did. Without him, chances are that you wouldn't be alive right now. Either of you. Scarlett sacrificed herself to save the world. If you can't even respect that, then there is no way you are her parents, no matter how much you like her."
Nethrys sucked in a nervous breath. He tugged her back down on the couch next to him, glancing tensely at Scarlett's parents. They were gaping at them with wide eyes and open mouths, as if it just dawned on them how serious the situation was.
Katerina cleared her throat nervously, her fingers tangling and untangling her mane of wavy brown hair. Her eyes darted towards Mrs. Burke, before they fixated themselves at her shoelaces. Finally, she decided to break the icy silence by continuing the story thread, "She's right, Mrs. Burke. Scarlett didn't die in vain. She gave sacrifice to save you, and everyone else. Scarlett is a martyr, and she will never be forgotten. She understood, we understand, and now it's your turn. Please understand."
Mr Burke was pacing up and down the lounge by the time they finished explaining, his hands jumping from his hair to his blazer pockets to his wife's shoulder. Mrs. Burke was crying freely now, sniffing delicately onto little napkins. Apollo and the Godlings stayed silent for a few moments, giving the parents some time to soak in everything they told them.
Quietly, his voice hoarse and devoid of it's steel, Mr. Burke murmured, "When will be her funeral?"
"Her... funeral?" Nethrys froze at his question. Scarlett was, after all, his daughter, but they had planned to give her a hero's funeral at Camp Half-Blood, and if the Burkes see tree-women, Chiron the centaur and men with fuzzy goat-legs, they would think something was amiss.
Apollo had his head cocked to one side, also weighing out the pros and cons. Finally, he reached a decision, announcing, "It's in a couple of hours. If you don't mind, we have given her a funeral somewhere else. She is to be cremated. You may find our culture a little... queer, but I assure you that it is the highest honor a hero like her can receive."
Nethrys was the first one after Scarlett's parents to visit her shroud. He stood in front of her, skeptical about the whole "last words" thing. So he just looked, taking in every last detail before the shroud draped over her, and she would be cremated: Her blonde locks were still mixed with purple and blue; her pale blue eyes were closed - Nethrys saw her mother close them as she kissed Scarlett's already-cold forehead; Her hands were folded over her stomach, holding a dozen of wildflowers, to hide the terrible -and fatal- wound. Nethrys felt a twinge in his gut as he looked at her hands, clean of blood, concealing the terrible truth. That could have been me. Except there would be no body, as his essence would have been reforming, and there definitely wouldn't have so many people grieving for him.
Bending down, Nethrys kissed her cold cheek and murmured, "You deserve Elysium. Goodbye." Of course, Katerina had already seen to giving Scarlett a hero's welcome in the other side.
Nethrys looked at Scarlett one last time before turning away, walking over to stand beside Mr. and Mrs. Burke, who was long past crying. She simply stared at her daughter's corpse with a hollow expression, while her husband held her hand murmured soft words to her. Lysandra was almost done now; she soon came next to Nethrys, giving him a sad smile. Nethrys wrapped his arm around her shoulder and let her lean on his. Katerina took longer than Lysandra; She was whispering something to Scarlett, but the tears running down her cheeks signified her frustration that Scarlett couldn't hear her. Enryx and Elektra knelt by her, their heads bowed - Nethrys quickly retracted his hand and shoved it in his leather jacket when Enryx frowned at him, letting him and Lysandra talk quietly. Rosamynd also stayed for some time, crying softly as she held Scarlett's cold hand. Adrian and Trudy went together, murmuring words Scarlett would never hear. Trudy was crying softly onto Adrian's shoulder. Vytoni and William went together, standing awkwardly with their heads bowed for a few seconds. Wolfe moved on, enveloping Katerina into a hug. Vytoni stared at their now deceased friend for a moment, as if she was contemplating something. Then she took something out of her pocket and laid it somewhere with the flowers. When she came near, Nethrys shot her a quizzical look, but she shrugged and turned away, watching Mr and Mrs Burke's mourning expressions.
Soon, they brought Scarlett's burial shroud out and wrapped her in it. Even though it's purpose was such a sad one, it was hauntingly beautiful: when a camper died, their half-siblings would design and make his or her burial shroud. Since Scarlett wasn't a camper, Nethrys and the Godlings made it for her - or rather, they talked and reminisced and Trudy made it. It was simple; kind of muted, with gray and white mist floating around and blank background with a blue and magenta border - like the highlights in Scarlett's hair. The only clear thing was where Scarlett's eyes would have been. Trudy had painted a pair of light blue eyes, painfully clear and bright. Full of life.
Chiron, Dionysus and Rachel the Oracle stood solemnly to the side, keeping a respectful distance as Nethrys took the flame torch and approach the brazier, focusing on keeping his hand steady as he neared Scarlett, looking at those blue eyes for one last time. The fire hovered a few inches from shroud, and for a moment Nethrys hesitated. His resolve wavered as he realized that if he burned -no, cremated- Scarlett, nothing would be left of her but their memories of her. Then let's hope that it's enough for her to live on. Be happy in Elysium. He dipped the torch and touched her head briefly, before stepping back and watched his friend go up in flames.
Nethrys sat on the steps of the Hermes cabin, a little unnerved about how undisturbed everything and everyone was being. True, it's already noon, about six hours after the funeral, but the sun was shining, people were laughing, but Nethrys still felt hollow.
Kyle had surprised Rosamynd by showing up after the funeral, which cheered her up a little. They were now at the beach, on a double date with Trudy and Adrian. Katerina and William off doing - whatever it is. Nethrys didn't really think he wanted to know. Enryx and Elektra were happily shooting arrows into the bullseye of every single target they could get their hands on, and Lysandra was sitting on the edge of the pier - he could see her faint silhouette reading a book with one foot in the water. Vyt was - Nethrys slumped even lower onto his step-seat. Truth be told, he knew that she would be at the training area, as usual, but what bothered him was that she didn't tell him. Is she avoiding me again? After all the excitement, Nethrys was comfortable and assumed they were back to normal - whatever normal was. Except it apparently wasn't.
"Hey," Nethrys' head jolted up so fast he thought he cracked his neck. As if his thoughts had called her, Vytoni stood in front of him, dressed in Greek armor.
"Hi." The silence hung thick in the air, not necessarily awkward but nowhere near comfortable.
"Well?" Vyt shifted to one foot, her hands fidgeting with her weapons belt. Despite the cold winter, Vytoni still wore her black tank top and shorts, which was the same thing pretty much since he met her. Nethrys suspected that if he dared go look in her closet, he would just find a row of the same things, lined up neatly. Wait, what? Nethrys momentarily forgot what they were talking about, but then remembered that they weren't actually talking.
"Uh," Nethrys stood up, shoving his hands nervously into his pockets. They started walking, though Nethrys had no idea where they were going, and he was pretty sure Vytoni didn't know, either.
"Hold on," Nethrys doubled back, jogging into his cabin. "I need to get my training gear," He called over his shoulder. Vytoni followed more slowly, her eyes sometimes darting back to the training area as she shifted from foot to foot, waiting impatiently. Nethrys quickly grabbed his sword and shield, deciding that he'll just use the armor provided in the facility.
"Okay," They headed of the cabin area as Nethrys fumbled with the straps of his shield. Suddenly, he broke into a sprint, grinning as he shouted, "Race ya!"
Vytoni matched him step for step, despite his lead, and by the time they got to the training facility, Nethrys already needed some water. He made a beeline for the water fountain as Vytoni checked each of her weapons, as if wondering which one would beat him faster. Nethrys went over to the armory and took a breastplate his size, then grabbed forearm and shin protectors.
"No armor," Vytoni said. Nethrys turned and saw her taking hers off, and reluctantly put them back.
"Why not?"
"You're not gonna have something to protect you when you're fighting."
"Fine," Nethrys had to admit, she had a point, "But I'm keeping my shield."
As they circled each other warily, Nethrys was determined that he would win this one. Nethrys raised his sword at chest level, his arm slightly bent as he searched for a weak point in Vytoni's stance. She had opted to forgo her runes and combat magic and was using a three foot long sword made of Stygian iron, with a clear opal set in the pommel. One of her victim's, he presumed. Suddenly, Vytoni moved with lightning speed, and Nethrys found himself, once again, on the defensive. His reflexes kicked in as he parried the hard blow Vyt had dealt. Nethrys swung his shield arm at her, but she turned so it only nicked her on the side, which was protected by armor anyway. Nethrys pressed on, slamming the shield against her and knocking her down. Vytoni rolled to the side as Nethrys swung his sword down, spring back up to her feet while jabbing the pommel of her sword into his solar plexus. Nethrys sucked in a breath as the air was knocked out of his lungs. Winded, Nethrys began to see black spots creeping into his vision. He raised shield, but it was too late. Vytoni kicked him in the chest and he stumbled and fell backwards, his sword sliding out of his hand as his head painfully crashed onto the floor. The tip of Vytoni's sword hovered between his eyes, and it's owner smirked as Nethrys grumbled, "I yield."
Still a sore loser, Nethrys rejected her hand as crouched as a wave of nausea attacked him. Slowly regaining his breath, Nethrys caught the water bottle Vyt tossed him and drained it, his stomach still sore. Nethrys picked his sword off the floor, glaring at Vytoni as he pieced together the real reason she didn't want armor.
"You wanted an armor-less fight because you wanted to try that trick, didn't you."
"Well, it worked," Vytoni smiled, then rolled her eyes as Nethrys' hurt expression, "Besides, you're getting better. These are lasting longer."
"Gee, thanks," Nethrys replied sarcastically, leaning on his sword as strength finally returned. They moved out of the way as a sword-fighting class came in, instead going towards the training dummies. Vytoni had her staff in stylus mode, writing black marks on her arms.
"You know," Vytoni started, peering thoughtfully at the dummies, which some camper decided to paint goofy faces on, "I could animate these."
"Really?" Nethrys also looked at the row of dummies. About a dozen. "Yeah, go for it."
Later that day, Nethrys sorely regretted letting Vyt enchant those dummies. Everything ached, and he had no idea just how annoying straw could be. He sat on his hammock, trying to block out the sound of kids around him laughing, pranking and basically making a lot of noise. The cabin counsellor, Kate Macy, was packing a whole bunch of pranks to sell on Mount Olympus. Nethrys decided to make sure he had an alibi that night.
Nethrys decided to take a quick shower before the Winter Solstice, since he was pretty sure he reeked of sweat. After realized he had to wear something nice for the Winter Solstice, Nethrys started panicking, unsure of what to wear - which was a first for him, since he basically wore the same thing every day. He decided to stick close to his normal attire by putting on a clean gray shirt but slipping on a pressed suit jacket one of his cabin mates lent him. He stuck to his black jeans, which somewhat resembles slacks, and black sneakers, since Nethrys was pretty sure no one was going to check his shoes. He wrestled with an ancient black tie he scavanged from someone's closet but soon gave up, instead letting his cabinmate do it for him. He stopped in front of the mirror in the shared bathroom he shared with his male cabin mates and decided to do something about his hair, which was pretty messy after his training session. He looked to the left and took some hair gel that Josh Parkman, his cabin mate, applied to his perfect hair every hour or so. He pulled out a dollop of hair gel which he smeared into his hair, not quite sure what to do with it. In the end, with somehow looked even messier, but greasy, so Nethrys washed it out of his hair, creating some suspicious-looking stains on his grey shirt.
One would think that being a God, he would be able to control his appearance. But of course, it wasn't that easy. Since he was a fairly new Godling, he had to control his powers and take his responsibility as a Deity first, oversee changes and settle into his role before he could even think about changing his appearance. But there were small exceptions, like himself and Trudy. His eye color changes to match his emotions, and Trudy can already change her appearance, for a limited amount of time.
Nethrys walked with the four year-rounders from his cabin, laughing and joking around and basically failing to ask Kate Macy what was in her bulging bag. They gathered at the base of Half-Blood hill, waiting for Argus to arrive in the huge bus.
The first person he noticed of course was Vytoni, looking very frustrated as she tugged on the hem of her dress. It was pretty much white and ended at her knees, with a green, silver and gold braided belt. Of course, she never ditched the black combat boots, which gained a couple of weird glances from campers. Her dark brown hair was out of her bun for once, and was impatiently pushed back every minute or so as Vyt flicked them out of her face. Her silver circlet sat on her head, glinting as they reflected the dying sun's rays. Nethrys thought she looked beautiful, but Vytoni only looked uncomfortable. All of her runes were off, as the Gods would probably be offended if she thought she was under attack, so he guessed that Vyt had a pretty good reason. As he neared, Nethrys gave her a quick smile before trying to do something about the stain on his shirt.
Wolfe had his hands stuffed into his black slacks pockets and was kicking around a rock, immediately scuffing his smart shoes. He had picked out a formal white shirt under his normal leather jacket and had a blue tie around his neck. Katerina was next to him; her blue eyes perfectly lined with black eyeliner and lashes carefully carefully curled. She gathered half of her golden hair into a bun, and the rest was out and separated into two over her shoulders -Nethrys thought she looked a little but like Belle, from that Disney movie. She was wearing a lime-coloured one shouldered dress and a belt tied around her waist with greek symbols imprinted on it; her outfit matched with black heels. Trudy was wearing a strapless whitish pinkish dress -Nethrys didn't really know what to call it, as it was white but then it was pinkish at the bottom- and pink ballet flats, leaning her head against Adrian's shoulder. Adrian was all decked out and looked a lot fancier than Nethrys in a formal shirt, jacket and shoes and a red tie. Next to him, Rosamynd and talking animatedly to Kyle, her red hair in a high ponytail and wearing a dress with a green top, orange bottom, green belt with a triangle pattern and a matching orange necklace. Kyle smiled lovingly at his girlfriend, his sea-green eyes crinkling at the edges. He had a blue suit, gray pants and a sky-blue bow tie. Lysandra was -go figure- reading a book next to the fountain, carefully perched on the edge to avoid ruining her pink and purple dress. Her dirty blonde hair was wrapped in an elegant bun, and Enryx kept giving her little smiles as he talked to Elektra. He wore a navy blue jacket and pants, though his formal shirt was only half tucked in, as if he had just stuffed it in hastily. His bowtie probably used to have a color, but now it was just whitewashed and bleached. He said something else, and Elektra smiled and laughed. She wore a purple dress with a turquoise necklace, and a star pendant glittered at her throat.
Nethrys blew hair out of his face, feeling a weird satisfaction to see everyone happy and together. Well, almost everyone.
Another stab of pain throbbed at his head, but Nethrys quickly pushed it away. No. Not tonight. Instead, he started talking to Adrian, though he could tell neither of them were really concentrating.
Suddenly, a loud horn blared, ringing the muted air of soft voices like an alarm bell, Nethrys very nearly banged his head on the wall he was leaning on, and looked up to see a huge school-bus like vehicle parked in front of them. There was about three dozen campers -including themselves- this year, so Argus, the camp's security took the bigger bus - about the same size as those field trip buses Nethrys sometimes saw during his quests.
Argus stepped out, his multiple eyes looking everywhere as everyone piled into the bus. Nethrys found himself next to Vytoni, who was leaning on the window seat. His eyes darted around nervously and he kept fidgeting in his seat, not attempting to make small talk. Behind him, Katerina sat with William, holding hands and basically being all mushy and... couple-y.
Couple-y? Is that a word? Nethrys spent the trip to Manhattan in silence, occasionally returning to his mental dictionary to check if couple-y was actually real.
A hand roughly shook Nethrys' shoulder, snapping him awake. He blinked a couple times, shaking the sleep from his head as he rubbed his eyes wearily. He sat up quickly as he remember where he was and followed the others into Olympus.
As they neared the large, golden gates, Nethrys saw a security guard confiscating weapons. Next to him Vytoni narrowed her eyes, stopping abruptly. Nethrys slowed down as well, stopping next to her as she knelt, pretending to tie the shoelaces of her combat boots. Nethrys saw her quickly etch a rune on the marble floor, the ink flowing along the stone like water. Vytoni shoved all the weapons on her body onto the center of the rune -except for a rusty old dagger that came out of nowhere- and they sunk into the ground, the tiles swallowing them up. She got up and continued walking, throwing Nethrys a meaningful look as she passed him. Shaking his head, Nethrys followed.
The security guard was almost at them now, grabbing the swords from a whining Adrian. He ambled over to them, droning in a tired tone, "Security check. Empty your pockets and bags and give me your weapons." Nethrys reluctantly handed over his sword and shield and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, feeling strangely bare without them. Vytoni handed the guard the old dagger she took earlier, and when he glanced at it skeptically, she just shrugged, saying, "It's antique. Dent it and I'll murder you." She smiled and they moved on, following the campers through the grand entrance of Mt. Olympus.
It was much different than when they were here this morning. Gods were milling around, chatting easily and dancing. Nature spirits and Satyrs walked around serving little blocks of ambrosia and goblets of nectar, and everyone was pretty much having a good time. The atmosphere was a lot warmer, and as Nethrys looked around, he saw his fellow campers smiling and laughing.
This isn't so bad. Nethrys relaxed, leaning back into a chair that somehow ended up next to him and let himself enjoy the music.