Sasha did her best to distance herself from the others after the meeting, and found herself wandering aimlessly in the woods. She eventually found a mound of rocks and climbed up to the top, where she sat and began to think things over for herself. In the council, everyone else had been sharing their ideas and it had been easy for them to come to their conclusions. Sasha, on the other hand, had been caught off guard entirely. She'd wanted to speak up for herself instead of letting Nico and Percy do all the talking for her, but the truth was she hadn't been at camp for over a month and she still didn't know just about anything, so when she was basically told she would destroy the world and die…. She tried to clear her head to logically think of what the prophecy meant, but she kept thinking of Charbel's taunting words. 'You're all going to die…..you're all going to die…' over and over on non-stop repeat in her mind. And she couldn't block it out. She groaned in frustration and wished she had Andrea to talk to about it, although she doubted she would ever see Andrea again, let alone talk to her. She stayed there, seated on the rock, thinking about the prophecy, and Charbel, and Ryan, and Nico, and Percy and Annabeth and how afraid she was of it all until the sun went down and it grew dark. She decided eventually, and with much hesitance, it was time to return to camp. She hopped down from the rock landing gracefully on her feet (thanks to the training she'd been receiving at camp) and began to walk away when she heard a low growling emitting from the shrubbery ahead. She froze dead in her tracks when she saw a glowing pair of eyes leering at her in the dark. Horrified, she felt her legs turn to sudden lead and stayed rooted to where she stood, even as the growling seemed to grow closer and the eyes larger. Something told her that trying to run would be plain stupid—this creature was obviously four times her size, if not more, and could catch her even before she had time to turn her back to the monster. Still unable to get a good visual of her opponent, she was able to make out its shape, which made her drop her jaw. Was it a…..dog? But Sasha loved dogs!
"Shhh….hey, sweetie, who's a cute lit…big doggy?" She said, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice. The dog growled in response, its eyes leering into her intensely, with a vicious intelligence in them. Sasha continued on, putting her hands up in front of her in a peaceful gesture.
"Now, how're you doing, big guy? You lonely?" Sasha's eyes were anxiously darting around, desperate to find something, anything, to distract this towering canine. She jumped down to grab a stick and, with a yelp, dodged the dog's jaws, which barely missed her foot. She raised the stick high above her head and smiled.
"Here, boy…..I bet no one ever plays with you, do they?"
The dog barked, foam from his mouth splashing Sasha. 'EW!' She cringed.
"Uh…I guess not? Well, uhm…..fetch!" She tossed the stick off to the side. The dog watched it fly across the clearing before it settled at the edge of the clearing. He turned back to her as if to say 'you've got to be kidding me. Seriously?'
Before Sasha had the chance to think up another distraction, the dog lunged. Sasha's head made contact with a rock and Sasha felt her head grow wet.
'Well isn't this turning out just perfect?' She thought miserably. The dog-beast was so huge one paw was enough to restrain the demigod entirely, save her head and neck. It barked at her angrily as if saying 'You seriously wasted my time with a stick?! Really original, stupid girl.' Not that Sasha didn't agree. Now the dog's mouth-foam was getting all over Sasha's face, and the smell made her gag. A mixture of rotten meat, dog treats, and…..was that garlic? Gods, that dog needed a mint. Sasha tried to struggle free of the dog's paw, even though she knew it was a failed attempt from the beginning. Oddly enough, she wasn't afraid as she expected she'd be at the face of death. Maybe she hoped that if she died now, she wouldn't have to worry about ruining the world.
That's when it happened.
It was hard to describe, really. Sasha could never describe it, even though since that first occurrence it's happened countless times, she could never put it into words. The shell pendant around her neck began to grow warm. Then hot. Then it began to glow a fluorescent green and the anterior end of the shell began to elongate and adapt a shining bronze. The rest of the shell was changing, too. The spire of the shell stretched until it was twice its original length and width, turning to the color of pearl and just as smooth. The middle of the shell extended outwards and changed the same way the spire did in color and texture. If Sasha didn't know any better, she'd say that the new element was constructed of pearl. The end product was a four foot long gleaming celestial bronze sword with a pearl hilt and her shell pendant embedded in the chappe of the sword. This whole process was completed in a matter of seconds. Was a pity her arms weren't free. Racking her brain for any solution to free herself, she desperately grabbed the pommel of her sword (which was a pearl replica of her shell pendant) in between her teeth and jabbed it into the monster's toe. With a yelp, it jumped back, freeing Sasha. She struggled to stand and gripped her sword. Prepared to strike, she was shocked when the dog's body suddenly went rigid and a chasm opened a mere two feet from where Sasha stood, engulfing the dog before resealing itself. In front of her stood the one and only Nico Di Angelo, his infamous black knife in hand. She smiled and him and croaked a thanks, but he just stared at her, furious.
"Hasn't anyone told you not to come out here at night?!" He seethed, and Sasha shrugged.
"Percy, but—"
"—you realize how close you were to dying right now, right? When I came into the clearing I could literally see your life fading!" He shouted, and she stared at him, growing angry.
"It's not my fault one of your dad's little pets decided to attack me! How did he even get into camp? Besides, if you didn't notice, I had it under control! I would've been fine!" She exploded.
"But—"
"And even if it did kill me, so what? I wouldn't have to worry about that stupid prophecy anymore anyways! I mean, I'm gonna die ANYWAYS!" She shouted, and Nico looked as if he was a little boy who she'd just slapped across the face. She immediately regretted lashing out at him.
"Nico, I—,"
"Your head." He said suddenly, and she raised an eyebrow.
"What about it?"
"Your, oh my gods, we need to get you to the infirmary. Now." He grabbed her arm lightly and began to lead her to away from the fight scene, watching her carefully as if she were about to pass out dead.
"Nico, I'm fine." She insisted, but he wouldn't listen. He began to guide her out of the woods and Sasha grew dizzier and dizzier. Nico was right. Her head was hurting her. She reached back to touch it and her hand came back wet. She felt feverish and ready to pass out.
"Nico…"
He turned to her, and before she had time to protest, had lifted her up into his arms. She leaned her head against his chest before realizing she was probably staining his shirt and he was probably totally disgusted and jerking her head away with so much force she nearly toppled out of his arms.
"It's okay, rest you head. But don't close your eyes, dammit, or I won't forgive you." He was joking, but there was anxiety masked under his words. She nodded, too weak to speak, and rested her head on his chest, determined not to close her eyes. Which proved to be an extremely difficult goal, as her eyes refused to stay open. Finally they entered a room and Sasha was blinded by light. She squirmed in Nico's grip. She felt herself being lay down on a bed and felt things getting injected into her, along with Nico and another voice discussing in hushed, urgent tones. Then a hand gripped her hand and Nico said "you can go ahead and sleep now."
Sasha was out before he even finished his sentence.