The Abduction of the Poppy
Percy Jackson and the Olympians fanfiction by Tohkalia and Miss-Li-ding
DISCLAIMER: If we owned PJO, would we be doing this?
Chapter Three - Battling Bacon to Get Directions from a Bipolar Season
Nathan was in his room, packing his meagre belongings into an even smaller bag. He was supposed to have done this last night but standing up without help had been hard. He had tried to pack anyway, but realised it wasn't going to work when he managed to pack only a single sock into his bag after an hour. Eliza was no help- she had been pretty exhausted after her first week at camp.
Just thinking about that day made his head throb. Whenever he used an excessive amount of luck, it caused him to have a massive headache. Busy escorting Angeline, the headache hadn't appeared, but as soon as he stopped concentrating on helping her, it hit hard.
So, there he was, the following morning, packing his bag whilst reassuring Eliza that everything would be okay whilst she nervously paced the cabin. Multi-tasking wasn't something he was good at, especially when still suffering a headache. It was better than last night, but still throbbing anxiously at his temples.
"What if I need extra battle training?"
A spare T-shirt, not bright orange and without the demigod identifying title.
"Just go to a Ares girl called Sophia Robinson. Tell her she owes me a favour."
"What if I need more clothes?"
A micro-fibre towel and a micro-fibre blanket.
"Go to a son of Hermes called Steven Hutchings. He'll steal something from the shop if you tell him I'll make Amelia run into him." He snickered at the thought.
"What if I get wounded?"
A first aid kit along with some nectar and ambrosia. Some crackers, water, chocolate, muesli bars and some popcorn.
"Infirmary or Apollo cabin." Nathan zipped up his bag. It was still mostly empty. That meant that there was room for picking up things and for carrying some of the girls' stuff.
"What if the cabin catches on fire?"
Shove keychain, wallet full of mortal money and drawstring bag full of drachmas into jacket pockets.
"Luck your way out of the blaze and get the Poseidon kids to clear up to mess." Before Eliza added onto his headache again, he patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. Patricia emailed me saying that she'll be here Wednesday. You'll be fine."
He walked over to the cabin's wishing well and threw in a gold drachma as an offering to his mother for good luck. Walking out of the hut he reached up and touched the horse-shoe then knocked on the wooden board it was nailed onto. He looked at his watch. Crap. Late. He jogged towards Thalia's tree, where Argus was supposed to be waiting when he ran into Viv and Angeline, waiting for him at the base of the hill.
Viv's duffel bag, surprisingly not bursting with items, was slung over her shoulder. Angeline's messenger bag lay at her feet. Viv wore jean-shorts and a T-shirt, her dark brown hair pulled back into a low, loose ponytail. Angeline looked like she was dressed for winter. She wore long black trousers and a long-sleeved dark purple shirt under a dark grey hoodie. Her eyes were hidden behind a massive pair of black sunglasses and he could see a tube of sunscreen poking out of her trouser pocket.
"Took you long enough, Lucky." Viv chewed something green -gum- before spitting it out. She had never liked minty things. "Had to make your superstitious departing customs, I suppose?"
"Those 'superstitious departing customs' have saved my life many times, thank you very much."
Viv snorted. "Unlike moi, you've never been on a quest before."
"I use them when I leave to go back home after each summer." Nathan retorted. "I generally need it, what with you around." Viv glared. Before she could reply, probably with one of her 'I owe you...' statements Angeline butted in.
"Come on guys, Argus is waiting. It's practically eleven. Not a cool look."
"I suppose you're right." sighed Viv, but the determined look on her face made Nathan guess that she was making a mental note, the type that she always managed to remember. She would probably put it in her 'Notebook of Debts' before the day was over.
As Gel had guessed, Argus was indeed waiting by the van, his eye-covered hands crossed over his chest. The trio apologised for keeping him waiting before climbing into the van. No-one had wanted to sit behind Argus (according to a Hermes camper he had eyes on the back of his neck) so after a brief tussle, a smug Vivian hopped into the van, followed by Angeline, and finally, a scowling Nathan, who settled in behind Argus. Argus climbed into the driver's side, buckled up his safety belt then started the van.
It seemed a few lifetimes later when Nathan and Co. finally got around to getting their bags out of the van and waving goodbye to Argus as he left them behind in Central Park.
"Next time I am not sitting behind Argus."
"Uh, yes you are." Both girls nodded simultaneously.
"And don't tell us to do the weird red touch thing." said Angeline, rolling her eyes.
They walked through the park for a while in silence, mostly so they could gather their thoughts. Gel stayed mostly to the shadows, Viv far away from Nathan and Nathan far away from Viv. As they walked along Nathan realised that they had somehow moved in the opposite direction of any crowds. Before he could make his point known, his attention was taken by something else, as it was then that the monster revealed itself to their group.
Viv's first thought on seeing the monster was 'I shouldn't have tempted the fates. Now my future best friend is almost certain to be a freaking Aphrodite-spawn.' Her next thought was also accidentally voiced.
"Do we just live in a world of cliches?" In front of them stood a giant boar. Like most giant boars it was the same height of a Clydesdale horse, though a whole lot bulkier. Unlike most giant boars however, two giant wings sprouted from its back, looking big enough to support it in flight, except for the fact that one of the wings looked badly broken.
Angeline, the one who painstakingly went and looked up all the obscure myths mumbled something. Viv nervously tugged at her ear to indicate she hadn't heard.
"Clazomenaean Boar." She hissed a bit louder than before.
The boar, who had been digging at the root of a tree, probably for its dinner, suddenly tensed up. The trio simultaneously took out their weapons. Angeline her mace, Viv her sword and Nathan's turned into a knife. He deactivated it, then activated it again. It turned into a spear. He seemed happy with it, but looked at it quizzically.
The boar had turned around fully now. It raised its wings above it to make it look bigger. With an ear-splitting squeal it charged at them. As it passed, it jerked its head upwards, as if to slash them with its giant tusks. After a sounder of giant boars had made themselves a nice home on Long Island, all campers had been informally... trained how to dodge giant charging monsters. Viv and Angeline dodged to the right, Nathan to the left. The boar raced right past them and into a tree, where it stumbled over onto its side, snorting furiously.
"Hey, is that a person?" Nathan seemed to be peering around the pig. Viv did likewise and confirmed his suspicions. There, on the ground was a lady in a golden dress, unfortunately next to the boar.
"At times like these I hate the fact that we are heroes." Angeline sighed.
"But then you wouldn't mash half as many monsters to little bits." whispered Viv.
"Little, tiny bits." added Nathan in a hushed voice.
Another sigh from Angeline. "I suppose you're right."
The boar shook its head a couple of times then turned around and flicked its ears around, trying to pinpoint their position. Oh crap. Good hearing... right... Suddenly, Vivian sneezed. It was so unexpected that she hadn't had the chance to try and stop it. The boar's ears swivelled to her direction before quickly charging again, in the direction of Angeline and Viv. This time it spread its good wing, its right wing, out at its side at human-height.
Viv had just enough time to position herself out of the boar's tusks before ducking and meekly trying to scratch the boar's hide as it rushed past. Her strike had no reaction; the hide was too tough. To it, the scratch was probably the equivalent of a paper-cut. However, it did squeal after its charge was finished.
Viv stood up from her crouch and faced the boar again. It seemed to be taking weight off its left hind leg. Angeline had a malicious grin on her face, but her forehead was beaded with sweat, the result of a strip of darkness around the boar's eyes, limiting its sight even further.
The boar seemed less than happy. It swung its head side to side but found that the darkness just followed its eyes. It grumbled to itself for a moment, put weight on its leg and squealed again. When it turned its head to their general direction, Viv could practically sense the waves of hatred flowing off it. Nathan jogged over to Viv and Angeline. Viv would have snorted at any other point but with an animal that had good hearing, she guessed it wasn't the brightest idea. Nathan pointed to his eyes and then to the left side of his chest, like she didn't know where to strike the boar. Viv rolled her eyes then made an angry gesture at her rapier; it wasn't the best choice for hunting boar, what was she supposed to do?
"I don't know." Nathan protested out loud, then clamped his hand over his mouth. Viv and Angeline didn't have time to berate Nathan for his major slip-up, the boar pin-pointed their location again and began charging. Angeline let the darkness dissipate, Viv didn't blame her. To keep it dark around its eyes while it charged would be pretty darn hard, especially at noon. This time, its wing was out again, except that it rose up and down.
The boar charged them. Angeline moved so she would be on its right side when it passed, Nathan stuck close to Viv, to which she was actually grateful for. When the boar charged past, instead of just slashing up as it had before, it swung its head to its right. Viv's blood turned cold as she heard Angeline cry out in pain. Viv dodged away from the pig, not bothering to scratch it again. Nathan tried to stab the boar behind the jaw but failed. The tip had just missed.
Once the boar had passed they both ran over to Angeline, who was slowly getting to her feet. She held her arm to her chest and mouthed the words 'broken rib'. Viv clenched her jaw and closed her eyes. As she got older, her natural instinct for her revenge had gotten stronger and stronger, until she could almost feel it, a knotty ball behind her sternum. This pig had hurt Angeline, and probably the lady in the golden dress. The knotty ball pressed against her sternum, swelling up. Oh boy, was that pig screwed...
"Nathan, give me your spear." she commanded. Nathan knew better than to not agree, he handed her his spear and she gave him her rapier in return. The boar pointed itself in Viv's direction, but she didn't care. When the boar charged, Viv did likewise, shouting as she went.
"You think you can best us bacon! I eat you for breakfast! You aren't even the monster Percy Jackson dueled! You're supposed to be a freaking sow!" The boar did not shy from the challenge, in fact, it increased its speed. The fact that Viv directly questioned its gender probably had something to do to egg it on.
Just before Viv collided with the boar she rammed the spear into the ground like she'd seen some medieval dudes do when hunting boars in a movie. The boar, seeing the obstacle, tried to veer from its path but it was too late. It ran itself onto the spear, Viv had just enough time to keep the spear in place and to feel it hit against something before rolling underneath the boar.
Viv was pissed off. Majorly. If the shaft had hit the heart she shouldn't have been able to feel anything. Now, instead of killing it, all she'd done was break its rib and lose the only really useful weapon they had against the boar. Being the daughter of Nemesis did have its benefits: intimidation factors, great swordsmanship, but in the end, she could only give as much as was taken from her.
The boar knew it was losing now- it was far too wounded. But, being what it was, it was determined to fight to the end.
Viv jogged over to join Nathan and Angeline. Nathan's weapon had returned to his pocket, already turned into a sword. He handed her back her rapier. With a nod to Nathan and Angeline they silently agreed on their battle plan. They would charge at the boar and try to finish this once and for all.
For a moment all was silent. Then simultaneously the two parties charged at each other. Viv, Angeline and Nathan roared out a battle cry while the boar squealed. But as they started to charge, everyone slowed down as if they were moving in honey.
It was too nice a day, Vivian decided, to kill such a creature. She looked at Angeline and Nathan. They seemed to be slowing down too. Even the boar looked a whole lot calmer, like it had smelt truffles. Viv felt like doing nothing except going to the beach, sunbathe, maybe even have a swim... It was those thoughts that jarred her back to the present. She hatedthe beach. A hand, almost uncomfortably warm, was placed on her shoulder. Viv turned around to find the lady in the golden dress, the reason they had decided to fight the boar, up and beaming.
"Now, now children, isn't this much better? No point in killing one another, is there? Just deactivate your weapons now..." Despite herself, Viv flicked her wrist, causing her sword to turn back into a ruler. Nathan and Angeline did the same. Nathan's sword shrunk down into his keychain, and Angeline's mace compressed itself to form a can of...mace. Huh.
"There we go. Clazo, I think you should go down to the river there, maybe cool down a bit. I always feel sorry for you pigs, no sweat glands and all. Don't worry, I'll come find you later and fix your wing, rib and leg for you, poor darling." The boar, once a raging mad killer, meekly snuffled then trotted away. The demigods' feelings of satisfaction dissipated and they all faced the woman who had sent the boar away.
"Ah, children of the gods, I suppose? I've been looking for you."
Nathan had to admit that the lady in the golden dress was beautiful. Startlingly so. She looked in her late twenties, with tanned skin and light brown hair streaked with natural looking blonde highlights piled in an elegant hairstyle on top of her head. Her teeth were pearly white. The only thing out of place were her eyes. They were the colour of dead grass.
"I am Auxo, horae of summer." Her voice was beautiful too, like waves on the shore of a beach.
"Axe-o?" asked Angeline, voice filled with delight. The axe was Angeline's second favourite weapon. Auxo, who had seemed calm before, clenched her fists and smiled tightly at Angeline, as if withholding a lot of anger.
"No, dearest, I am Auxo. I know that your... breed doesn't appreciate the day time, but at least have the decency to say my name correctly." The happy grin was wiped right off Angeline's face. "But let's let bygones be bygones, I come here in good will. She placed her hand on Angeline's chest. It glowed as bright as the sun for a short time, then faded back to normal. Auxo took her hand away and looked at Angeline expectantly.
"How did you..." Angeline patted the place where her broken rib was.
"I'm the goddess of growth. My name means growth. Repairing a broken rib is like making a tree taller. I suppose, in your terms, it would be like wielding that mace of yours."
Angeline's face went bright red. She knew that the mace wasn't a weapon that required a lot of skill, but she was very defensive about it. Auxo ignored her and instead looked at Viv for a moment before tutting. "You should sunbathe more, boys would go crazy over you if you were a bit tanner. Aphrodite always hated the fact that Nemesis was... pretty. If you took more care at your appearance I think that a lot of Aphrodite's kids would get jealous."
Nathan had never seen Viv and Angeline so mad at the same person. Then Auxo looked over Nathan. He waited for her to say something about his appearance, lineage, anything, but she just inspected him from head to toe like the popular girls at his school did, then looked away without saying anything.
Somehow, that made him angrier then any stupid remark about tanning could ever do.
"Ah, I've said too much, haven't I?" Auxo put her hands to her face, after seeming to realise that the looks on the faces of the demigods was one of anger, not gratification. "My sisters always say 'Auxo, you shouldn't be so critical' but I see what can happen if you only feed something, make it bloom and grow until it-"
"What do you want with us?" asked Angeline, who had had some chance to calm down.
"What impatience! My, my! I'm here to help you on your quest, of course." She laughed. Even though he was angry with her, Nathan couldn't help noting that the noise sounded like some type of songbird. The fact that everything, even her laugh, was perfect, except her eyes, kind of annoyed him. "Did you really think that you were going to find my mistress Demeter by yourselves, or that no one else cared?" When they didn't reply she laughed some more. "Don't flatter yourselves." Nathan sighed inwardly. That was the third time someone had told him that since camp had started. It seemed to be in fashion.
Auxo shook her head sorrowfully. "Do you know how hard a job I've got, trying to keep everything growing without my lady? I tell you, it is a hugechore-"
"So, Auxo, where will we find Demeter?" drawled Viv, fingers drumming a tattoo on her ruler. Auxo looked like she was about to tell them, or tell Viv to grow some patience (like she reallyneeded to be reminded), but suddenly her mouth pinched shut.
"I can't tell you." her voice was a lot quieter than before, none of her earlier confidence.
Nathan let out an exasperated sigh. "Then... why did you get hurt by the boar and tell us that we were going to need directions?"
"What is it with men and directions?" She laughed, right back into her earlier mood, looking at the two girls for support. Viv and Angeline looked right back with straight, uninterested faces. Gel raised an eyebrow. "One, I was never hurt by the boar. He startled me when he turned around and started charging, that's all. He was asking me to fix his wing. Poor dear, a sphinx had broken it. Have you ever-" The unamused look from Viv stopped her in her tracks. Auxo sighed. "Fine then. All you heroes are the same. You just want to get me out of your hair. Two, because you are going to need directions. Now, Demeter is..." She closed down again. Her face displayed emotions that flickered off as soon as they appeared. Nathan looked towards Viv and Angeline with a look that equated to 'What the Hades?'.
When her voice returned, it was soft and quiet again. "I cannot tell you where she is now, but I can tell you where she was last. I can give you a warning and a gift. But no more."
"Why are you being so nice to us?" asked Angeline, seeming to tune into Auxo's random personality changes.
Auxo gave her a sad smile. "I'm doing this because you are going to need my help, even though you may not want it. Besides," she looked over Nathan with that same uncaring look. "Tyche cashed in on an old favour."
Viv huffed. Nathan knew that she got annoyed whenever Tyche was brought up.
"Cool. Why don't you tell us what you're going to tell us, give us the gift and leave us alone?" suggested Viv. Auxon immediately lost her solemn look and turned back to her annoyingly confident self.
"What an attitude! You would have been a big nuisance in Athens back in the day! Probably would have been locked up in your house, and I can understand why such a husband would do so!" Viv looked purely murderous, but Auxo took no notice. "Demeter was last in Nebraska. She loves corn, you know." An almost nostalgic look passed over her face. "Yes, that is certainly where she was last. However, I bring a warning. My warning is this; vanity will transport you to where she is, but how will you get back?"
The puzzled look on the trio's faces made Auxo laugh. "I know that my words do not make sense now, but I cannot say more." She gave them all a stern look, as if she was trying to tell them something else. She reached into her hair and with a twist of her hand undid something that made her light, well-coiffed hair tumble down out of its restraints. In her hand was a hair thing... a barrette, if Nathan remembered correctly, with an intricate, crystal flower bud on it.
Looking over the trio, she dismissed Nathan, again, ignored the rage in Viv's eyes, and placed the barrette into Angeline's hands. "Open the flower when you come across someone, or something that's a total workaholic." She gave Angeline a wink then stepped back, sighing with sadness. "I guess I've nearly overstayed my welcome."
Nearly? Did she really not sense the waves of hatred radiating from Viv?
"Farewell, young demigods. Remember that summer is meant to be enjoyed as a holiday. You have to have some fun on the quest. In Nebraska there's this lovely maze... " A foreign sounding bird suddenly chirped. "Ah, my ride's here. Look away now dearies, lest you want to be incinerated." A warm wind from the west suddenly whisked , taking the goddess' advice, hastily squeezed his eyes shut. A wall of heat, as if someone had opened up the door to a furnace hit Nathan. Then, just like that, the heat disappeared. Auxo was nowhere in sight. The world seemed colder and a whole lot smellier. Nathan hadn't noticed before, but there had been a smell of ripe apples that Auxo had brought with her.
"Man, who'd think that summer would be such an annoying... critical..." growled Viv, still fuming from Auxo's beauty advice and her comment on her attitude.
"At least we have a lead now." shrugged Nathan.
"Yeah, I saw the way you looked at her." said Viv. Before Nathan could defend himself she turned to Angeline. "What should we do with the barrette then?"
Angeline defensively put said barrette into her hair, using it to pin back her left bangs. "I'm not going to go around and throw away gifts given to me by a goddess, even if she is annoying and critical."
Nathan smacked his head as a sudden thought struck him. "Crap. I hope Auxo returns."
"Why, lover boy? Wanna go and confess your never-ending love to her?" Viv smirked.
"Not really, I'm just worried how long that flying pig is going to wait for her to show up."
Thanks for reading! Please pretty please review with a cherry on top ;)