I don't own Class of the Titans, though I'm sure Studio B could adopt me.
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Flawed
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Odie couldn't shake the feeling that he and Archie had met before. But in spite of his occasional questions, the warrior professed no knowledge of the thinker prior to meeting him at the camp. Still, he refused to give up on the nagging possibility that he was simply forgetting something and it would come to him later. Odie, therefore, trailed after Archie even as the warrior was drilled in combat techniques and he himself tried to figure out what a priest of Hermes was supposed to do. The hero even put off changing out of his leather skirt in favor of satisfying his mind.
It was during Archie's sword practice that something finally triggered another suggestion of a memory. Odie watched idly as the warrior thrust and parried with his weapon, his feet stirring up small clouds of dust as he moved. A glint of sun from the golden leg brace shone in the thinker's eye for a moment, drawing him from his thoughts in irritation as he leaned forward to avoid the glare. That's when it hit.
The leg brace…
The device had caught several eyes in camp before Odie's epiphany, and Archie had calmly explained that he had a bit of trouble with his heel on occasion and the brace was to make sure it wouldn't happen often, if ever. He assured everyone that his weak ankle would not be a problem and by this point it was old news. Word certainly traveled fast around the camp.
But as Odie stared at it, he couldn't help but think there was something off about it; something missing or strange, like it should look different. He climbed to his feet.
"Hey Archie," he called. "Come here for a minute will you?"
The warrior dutifully trotted over without question. Since his confession of being a priest, almost everyone had become attentive to his requests. He hardly had to ask twice about anything he wanted to know. "What's up?" Archie asked.
"I need to see under your brace. It will only take a minute or two, I promise." Odie tried to look as if his request was perfectly normal. Everyone asked to view a friend's weak spots, all the time!
"I'd rather not." Archie took a few steps backward, now looking decidedly uncomfortable. "It's kind of personal."
The thinker nodded. "I know, but trust me on this. It's important."
Archie shook his head. "No," he said.
Odie didn't ask a third time. Instead, he tackled the warrior to the ground in a sudden leap. He quickly scrambled to flip the clasps keeping the brace in place while Archie recovered from the surprise. The shorter hero was flung aside as Archie managed to get his other leg under the thinker, but as he tumbled off, the brace came free. Odie quickly turned to have his look.
Where Archie expected them both to see a perfectly normal heel, there instead sat a large, purpling bruise. He winced in reaction although he felt no pain. Odie tentatively ran his fingers over the mark, glancing up in search of any reaction. Archie's face remained impassive, although an edge of worry was beginning to tug his lips into a frown. He reached forward to feel it himself. It looked painful, and he knew it would be considering the location of the bruise, but his nerves were numb. The warrior felt nothing.
"Now that," Odie said, "is unusual."
Archie could only mutely nod his agreement. He fumbled with his brace, clipping it on again to hide his discolored heel. "Don't say anything," he said softly. "And next time, no means no." The warrior stood and picked up his sword where it had fallen. He didn't look back as he headed back to the practice field.
Odie cringed. "Sure. Uh, I'll just go get changed."
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The descendent of Odysseus was slightly puzzled when he stepped out of the tent, having just reacquainted himself with the 'priestly' clothes he woke up in, to find a small little figurine waiting for him. He and it exchanged glances, although Odie was the first to blink and take a step forward, bending to reach for the small statue. It was short, pillar-like, with a tiny head on the top and other ornaments – he blinked and jerked his eyes as he realized what exactly they were – on the bottom. His grip shifted quickly to grasp it at the back, almost dropping it altogether.
One of the many milling soldiers of the camp seemed to notice his discomfort. "What, you've never seen a herma before?" he asked skeptically. "Or is it not made to your liking?"
Odie was quick to grasp the root word for Hermes, the god he had claimed to represent, and skittishly held up the small idol. "Oh, no. I just didn't expect to see one so quickly." He hoped his grin didn't seem too forced. "In fact, I was about to ask for several of them. Lots, even." A nervous laugh slipped through his lips.
"Ah, to mark the path? I'll make sure the word gets passed on, Priest." The man turned to carry out his self-appointed task but paused. "Oh. I was meant to tell you that the tent is yours. Enjoy." He ducked his head in curt nod and hurried away.
Nodding absently, the hero retreated quickly into his new living quarters to hastily dump the statue in the first available spot. Face down, even. He certainly didn't want to see that when he walked in later, probably ready to sleep. There was no telling what sorts of nightmares he would have after that – most likely full of dancing phallic objects. He shivered.
Desperate for something to dwell on besides the little statue, the thinker's mind turned back to the confrontation with Archie. He had obviously crossed a boundary he shouldn't have, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel a small sense of victory. Uncovering the bruise had obviously been a shock, to both of them, and that had to mean it was a clue of some sort. At least, that was what his logic was telling him.
Still, he thought. I should apologize properly. We do have more alike than not, and I don't want to try and make friends with anyone else around here. The thought of listening to a soldier laugh about what he'd like to do to a buxom woman wasn't very appealing.
The hero strode slowly back in the direction of the practice fields. He was pretty sure that Archie would still be there, perhaps testing out some other pointy object in anticipation of whatever was to come. Odie still hadn't figured that out. They were obviously a military party – the weaponry and armor made that pretty clear – but why they'd need a priest was beyond him. And what was so special about the city, anyway?
Sure enough, he caught sight of Archie's purple hair before reaching the actual field. He was talking to someone, a bow leaning against his side. Odie jogged over.
"What's the problem?" Perdix was asking the warrior when Odie pulled up within earshot. "You're a natural, perfect for leading the crew that will swing around the island to attack from the other side."
Archie shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't do it."
"So you've said. But the question is, why not?"
The thinker watched as Archie reached down to grip his latest weapon. His knuckles were white beneath his skin. "I'm afraid of water," he said quietly. Archie raised his eyes defiantly. "I can't swim and it doesn't help that I was dumped in the middle of ocean before waking up here."
Perdix sighed. "I imagine it wouldn't. I'm beginning to see why you ended up here, though." He reached out a hand to clasp Archie on the shoulder. "You're a great soldier, Archie. I'm sure we can find you a spot in the main charge." The tinker looked past the warrior and met Odie's eyes. "Ah, priest. What can we do for you?" Archie turned to look at him.
"I, uh, really just came to apologize to Archie." He quickly stuck out his hand. "I really should've stopped when you said so. I guess my curiosity got the best of me."
"How long have you been standing there?" Archie asked, regarding the hand.
Odie took a bit of initiative and snatched up the other boy's hand. "I'm not going to say anything to anyone. I promise."
Perdix smiled. "Good to see you two getting along," he said. "I hope you'll keep up your drills, Archie. And Odie?" He focused on the self-proclaimed priest. "We're waiting on you to set the path for us. The sooner the better."
"Right. I'll get on it." The hero stuffed his hands in his pockets to keep his palms from sweating. What path?
As the tinker turned and headed off to attend to his next bit of business, Archie slumped heavily to the ground. The bow clattered to the ground beside him. "It seems like all of my flaws are destined to be exposed today," he sighed. "It would have been fun to lead a troop."
"I don't think invading a city is supposed to be fun," Odie murmured under his breath. He took a seat. "Try to look on the bright side. At least they didn't kick you out completely."
"Gee, what a nice thought."
"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll tell you a secret of mine." The thinker glanced around before leaning in to whisper conspiratorially, "I'm claustrophobic." He waited for laughter, or at least a chuckle.
Archie smirked at him. "At least you're not perfect," he said.
Odie shrugged. "No one is. But you could probably cure your fear by getting a little friendly with water. You know, maybe learn how to stay afloat without a lifejacket, dog paddle. Or take up a hobby like sailing." He nudged his friend. "A buddy of mine happens to be an accomplished sailor. He could probably take you out."
"Nah, I already know someone like that." Archie smiled weakly. "Jay's managed to get me out on water a few times and I don't know how he does it. I'm not sure if it's helped, but they were kind of fun." He suffered a sinking sensation. "At least I think they were. This memory thing is starting to get annoying."
The thinker didn't hear him. Time seemed to freeze the moment Archie mentioned Jay's name. They knew the same person. They both knew Jay, sailing boy wonder, but they didn't know each other. Odie strained to remember some mention of Archie or maybe showing up to hang with Jay after school and catching a glimpse of a shock of purple hair. But there was nothing. Only Jay and his boat and other faces and names he wasn't sure were related.
He snapped out of it to grab Archie by the shoulders tightly, staring at him. "You look familiar to me," he said. His heart was pounding in his ears.
"Yeah, we've been over this."
"No, no. Really familiar. Like I've seen you before, or I know you off of this beach. But I can't remember you at all before today." He shook his head as Archie regarded him with heavy skepticism. "There's more. I know Jay. He's the one I was talking about." Odie wanted to shake Archie, to make him feel the same nagging feeling that something was missing. "I know Jay."
The warrior grimaced and removed Odie's hands from his shoulders. "So what? I'm sure Jay has lots of friends who've never met each other." He frowned. His reasoning sounded hollow in his ears. "Besides, thinking that we knew each other before this island is crazy, isn't it? We'd remember something."
"It's about as crazy as you thinking you were flying over the ocean," Odie reminded him.
"But wouldn't I find you familiar, too? I mean, you're a friendly face now but I don't have the sense of seeing you before we met at the tent."
The smaller boy shook his head. "Not necessarily." He gestured to his head with one hand, making a broad sweeping motion with the other. "I'm observant. I notice things other people don't. You're more athletic and adaptable that way. We're different, so it stands to reason that this memory wipe would affect us differently."
Archie found himself nodding. "I guess that makes sense," he said. "But why the amnesia?"
Odie deflated. "I don't know," he admitted. "For all I know, maybe we shipwrecked at sea, bumped our heads, and washed up here to become an extra set of hands and a handy spiritual avatar for these people."
I don't believe that, the thinker thought to himself, but I can't deny that it's possible.
A cough startled them both. Another miscellaneous soldier stood off to their right, shifting on his feet. "Priest Odie?" he asked. "Master Perdix would like me to inform you that the army's captain has received intelligence. The city will be attacking tomorrow at dawn." He cleared his throat. "We need your path tonight."
"Sure," said Odie, plastering on a smile meant to convey how happy he was to help even if he had no idea what he was doing. He glanced at Archie. "Duty calls."
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And here, at last, someone has noticed that things don't fit. Well, someone who is having memory problems. Kudos, Odie, on your magnificent brain.
Thank you once again for all the reviews.
A note to readers: I will be moving into university on Monday and as such I've been spending most of my free time preparing, packing, and seeing the last of my friends and family before the big day. And considering classes start on Wednesday, I'm sure everyone can appreciate that a next update may be a little late in coming. My apologies. I will try to get it done as soon as I can.
Next chapter: There is such a thing as too much fun.