AN: YAY! IT'S HERE! Tell me how to improve! R&R
Capture my Temper
Phoenyx turned around and walked off. I ran after her, and put my hand on my shoulder. She spun around.
"Goodbye, Nico. Maybe, just maybe, one day we can meet again, and actually spend more than two days together." Her voice was strained, and she was furiously trying to blink tears away. "I'm sorry it had to be this way."
"But where will you go?" I protested. Phoenyx shrugged sadly.
"Don't know. Lived this way for almost three years. I think I can manage more. I have to." Hearing this crushed me. Living on the run for three years? Hunted? Not only by monsters, but with the Hunters of Artemis in pursuit?
"What about me?" I asked desperately. "Us? Meeting Hazel? Phoenyx, we need you." Her expression changed to indecision and remorse.
"I have to go," she said bitterly, and melted into a shadow. Anger towards the Hunters and anybody else who hurt my sister boiled inside me, and I stormed up to the pavilion, right up to Thalia, who was already packed up for the chase.
"If I were you," she told me, securing her pack, "I would tell my sister to get the Hades out of here. We've been commanded to hunt her, and to kill her on sight." Percy came from behind me looking confused and angry.
"Where is she?" he asked.
"I don't know. The Hunters are going after her."
He looked incredulous. "They can't do that! She's under the protection of Camp Half-Blood!" Thalia shook her head.
"Not any more. She ran off, remember?" Darkness started to collect around me, and I realized I was shaking in anger.
"If you do so much as touch her, I swear on the Styx I'll-" Suddenly, the ground rumbled, shaking plates and spilling drinks. Smoke rose from a deep crevice in the ground. My father emerged from it, wearing Greek battle armor, and brandishing his staff.
"Who wishes to harm Phoenyx, my daughter?" he boomed, his black eyes glittered furiously as he glared at the campers. Most of them fell on their faces. I knelt.
"The Hunters of Artemis, my lord," I told him.
Thalia looked flustered and angry. "It's our charge from Artemis." Hades scowl deepened.
"Well. I suggest you get going. But, as a fair warning, you will be swallowed up by the ground. And if you manage to survive that, I will personally unleash my wrath on you, demigod, though immortal you may be." My dad's voice went dangerously low. "Tell Artemis that my Heron will not fall under your feet. I will not let the Heron follow the White Angel's path to destruction." Hades looked at me with his intense black eyes. "Take care of your sister Phoenyx. She needs you much more than she realizes, and much more than you can imagine." In a flash, he disappeared, and a raven flew off into the sky simultaneously. Out of nowhere, Phoenyx appeared, looking shaken up. I surprised myself by hugging her. At first she stiffened, but then relaxed and hugged me back.
"Hey," she said playfully, after letting go and poking my arm. "Long time no see." I gave a wry smile.
"What made you decide to come back?" Phoenyx matched my sideways rueful grin.
"I didn't decide to. Pops threw me back."
" 'Pops'? You just called the Lord of the Dead 'Pops'?"
She laughed. "Yeah. Get over it. Now you ready to kick some immortal butt in Capture the Flag?"
"Pfft, yes. Of course," I replied, making up my mind right then and there. Pretending I never was going to do differently.
I really dislike wearing armor. Its too heavy and clunky. Makes me feel like the Tin Man's emo cousin or something. Especially helmets. Too tight and stuffy. Besides, the work I usualy do is under the cover of darkness, undetected. Still, Phoenyx insisted on me at least wearing a breastplate.
She donned an extremely light black leather jerkin she claimed had magical protection enhancements, and a wrist guard on her right hand. The other thing I noticed was her black half gloves she always wore. I'd never seen her take them off the whole time I'd been with her. Speaking of leather items, this aviator jacket tickles my brain. When Reyna, Coach Hedge and I were Shadow Traveling the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood, I'd tossed it aside in Portugal because it was too shredded to be of any use, from the encounter with Lycaon. Yet a week after the War ended, it popped up in the Hades Cabin closet. I shuddered when I thought of the king of werewolves, and the scars on my forearms ached at the memory. They had faded for the most part, but seeing pictures of wolves makes them throb painfully. Its why lately I've kept my forearms wrapped in some magic gauze Will Solace gave me.
The other weapons Phoenyx carried were a bow and quiver, a set of throwing knives, a black shield, and her Stygian Iron dagger and Spartan Kopis combo. She looked very formidable. Me? I just had a breastplate, Nyk's jacket, and my sword. Not counting the fact that half the kids here practically peed their pants when I walked behind them. But we weren't playing against other campers today. Today, I got a chance at a nice thick slice of revenge for my sister. For both my sisters. And for when the Hunters kidnapped Reyna. That was plain embarrassing.
Thalia and her Hunters were looking smug and confident, so much that they didn't bother to plan for more than three minutes. They just stood around talking and laughing like Aphrodite or Venus girls. Mostly laughing about how easy winning would be. Phoenyx muttered something about 'talking shadows' and 'porcupine feathers'. I think I heard the last part wrong.
Because we were the home team, we chose the side of the woods closest to the Big House, and the Hunters got the opposite side of the creek. Annabeth, Percy, Clarisse, and the whole entire cabins of Hades and Zeus/Jupiter(Thalia didn't count anymore) started collaborating.
"We need to hit them hard on the flanks if we're going to win," Clarisse exclaimed, and threw her sword into the dirt there a setup plan was being visualized.
"I say we send a few people in, while the rest draw them off," opinionated Percy.
Annabeth shook her head. "Remember, they could easily pick everybody off at a distance. I can't think of a way to draw them out. But without a way to, our middle defence would be shredded." An uncomfortable silence rested over everybody, until Percy perked up.
"Jason," he said excitedly, "could you summon a storm cloud over the Hunter's side?" Jason adjusted his glasses.
"I don't know. I've never tried."
"Maybe you could use strong wind to blow their arrows off course," I offered. Annabeth brightened and smiled.
"That could definitely be useful for a offensive group. But that still leaves us with the problem of the sharpshooters, and getting past them to the melee fighters." Another frustrated pause.
"I could throw a shadow over the Hunters' area," Phoenyx suggested after thirty-three seconds. (Sorry with the precise numbers and everything. Phoenyx now really thinks I'm OCD) I blinked.
"What do you mean?" I asked. I was literally in the dark about what she was saying.
"You've never summoned Shadow Spirits?" Phoenyx frowned.
"N-no. . ."
"You're telling me you've never seen into the Shadow Layer?" she inquired skeptically.
Annabeth butted in. "What's the Shadow Layer?" I could tell she was engrossed in these new findings.
"It's the only place where Shadow Spirits are visible," Phoenyx explained. "They have to do a child of Hades' bidding, and they often pass along valuable information. That's why I was able to stay uncaught for so long. When you Shadow Travel, you enter the Layer for a period of time. I can stay perfectly connected to both realities at once, if I want to."
"Is that I why I couldn't move you this morning?" I thought back to our sparring session. Phoenyx nodded. Clarisse harrumphed.
"Can we start talking some language I can understand?" she complained.
"Excuse me! Sorry. Sorry. Coming through. Sorry!"
"Hey! Move over people! Daughter of Poseidon coming through!" Two figures pushed through the crowd of demigods, and I recognized Maddie Flynn and Cole, Percy's little sister. I say little even though she's my age. She might be Poseidon's daughter, but she looks almost nothing like Percy. Cole doesn't have what is considered the 'signature' sea green eyes, or black hair. Instead, her curly hair is light brown, contrasting to her California tan. I've never been able to tell her eye color because of the tinted glasses she wears. She'd made fast friends with the newest edition to the Dionysus Cabin, Maddie, who doesn't look all that special or demigod-ish. On the shorter side, pretty pale, dark brown hair usualy in a ponytail, and one brown eye that drifts off to the side when she's talking. This really bugs me. And it isn't something I can change at all, unlike Jason's perpetually crooked glasses. She also really seems to enjoy quoting Shakespeare, which I kind of like listening to. Hamlet is a fantastic play. Lots of dark themes.
"You're shirt is torn, Percy," Cole told her brother, and poked him in the shoulder.
He looked where she pointed. "Oh. Yeah. Hi, Cole. Maddie." Maddie looked winded.
"I have a plan," she announced, and handed Annabeth a scroll. Everybody but me and Phoenyx looked over her shoulder. Sometimes I dislike being short-ish. The daughter of Athena crinkled her eyebrows and Jason adjusted his glasses.
"It's- absurd," she said frankly. Maddie nodded enthusiastically.
"That's exactly why it will work." Her eye drifted off to the side distractingly. "The Hunters will be expecting some completely complex and tricky. They won't see this coming." Annabeth thought for a second.
"Maddie is right. It's a brilliant idea. In a strange, insane, incomprehensible way. It might just work." She smiled at the daughter of the Wine Dude, looking impressed.
"If not, we'll just add one more win to the Hunters record, and we'll make fools of ourselves," Jason added.
"Mr. Pessimist."
"I don't get it," complained Percy.
"Me neither," replied Maddie.
"For Tyche's sake, the entire Hades Cabin hasn't even seen the stupid thing." I rolled my eyes.
"Are sure you want to?" Poseidon's son asked.
"Yes, I'm sure," I snapped, "Just hand me the scroll." After looking at it for a full minute, I changed my mind. It was hurting my brain. "Never mind," I mumbled, handing it back to Annabeth.
Phoenyx smirked and nudged me with an elbow. I glared half-heartedly at her. "I think I get it. But where will Nico and I come in?" she inquired.
"Your job is to make as much of a distraction as possible without getting caught, and in Phase 3, to protect the Flag Extraction team on their escape," Annabeth explained.
"Well," Clarisse got an evil grin on her face. "Let's get moving. I'll give the orders." She clunked off, her armor rattling as she walked.
"What about me?" Cole threw a stick at a tree, and a Dryad's face appeared in the bark, sticking it's tongue out at her.
"You will stay with me and Percy," Annabeth ordered. "Maddie, you stay with my second in command, Malcolm."
"Okay. I'm not very athletic anyway." As Maddie turned away, her eyes flashed an intense purple. My thoughts flashed back to my dream earlier. I remembered the purple in Phoenyx's eyes after the curse thing entered her. I shuddered. It was creepy. Something inside me knew that those purple flashing eyes had to do with the plan.
I was sure I didn't understand Maddie's plan for the most part. All I knew, was that it involved a lot of pretending, and yelling, and pretending to fake, and all that kind of good stuff. Phoenyx and I set up position in a tree, where the Hunters were less likely to look.
"So how long can you sustain the Shadow Cover?" I asked her, brushing a leaf off my hair. She unslung her bow, and nocked an arrow to her string, but didn't draw.
"Depends on the time of day. Right now, in these woods, I could probably keep it going for about forty-five minutes or so, without being too tired to fight. At night, I could easily keep it up as long as the dark hours last. It also depends on what method I used. If I send Shadow Spirits and beings to harass them, I could hold them to it till ten a.m, and I have very little power from ten to two p.m. Those hours in between are brightest. The Shadows sleep during that time. That's why our powers are stronger at night. At least that's how it is with skiakinesis, and umbrakinesis. The two are doors to the other. I've never been great at necrokinesis, geokinesis, ferrokinesis, etcetera, etcetera."
"How do you enter or see into the Shadow Layer?" I picked apart a twig, and discarded a green strand of it. Phoenyx scanned the horizon as she spoke.
"You know that cold, tingly feeling you get right before you Shadow Travel? Once it saturates you, don't think of the place you want to go, or moving. Instead, pretend like you're opening your eyes, and you should at least see into it. Don't fully commit to it on your first try, or the Shadow Spirits will pull you in, and it's almost impossible to get out. You have to show them who's boss. Go ahead and try it. I'll make sure nothing happens."
"Thanks." I took a deep breath and plunged. I found the icy chill, and let it soak into my skin. At first, when I looked, nothing happened. Suddenly, I felt like I was being sucked into a vacuum or vortex of blinding, pulsating purple. Ah, a son of old Corpse Breath, a loud, booming voice said. How nice of you to stop by. I felt powerless to escape the death lock it had on me. Why do you fight me? I won't hurt you. Unless, you call turning you into a total nutjob 'hurt.' I wouldn't- something dark and powerful started pulling me out of the swirling purple. I felt like my brain would combust. You can't save him, skiamancer! He's mine! You don't have enough power to pull him from my-NO! How can you- a silence followed as the dark force and the Purple Thing tugged harder at my essence.
I am She who Rules the Shadows, and I will not yield to you. Release my brother NOW!
GHHAAAAAAA! cried the Purple Thing. YOU MAY HAVE WON THIS TIME, REGINA TENEBRIS, BUT- AHHHHHHHH! I was shoved back into the physical word. I came up clutching my throat and gasping for air.
"Take it easy!" Phoenyx stabilized me as I started to fall off my perch in the tree.
"What was that?" I asked between gasps.
"I don't know," she said anxiously. "It was pretty powerful. And it wasn't in the Shadow Layer, either. It was something different. It was alive. The only reason I could force it to release you, was because I attacked it. It isn't used to pain." She shook her head. "I don't even know how I did that." After a few minutes of catching my breath, I interrupted the frustrated silence.
"The Purple Thing called you Regina Tenebris," I recalled. " 'The Shadow Queen' in Latin. And you called yourself 'She who Rules the Shadows.' Where did you get titles like that?" Phoenyx chewed her lip distractedly.
"The Shadow Spirits always call me by that name. I guess it's because I'm the strongest skiamancer they've seen since Hades. I've never been called Regina Tenebris before."
"Hmm. I'm the Ghost King," I told her. Phoenyx started. Her eyes were wide.
"The Ghost King?" she asked. I nodded tentatively.
"What's wrong with that?" Phoenyx didn't respond and guiltily looked away. A bugle sounded in the distance.
"It's time for Phase Two," she said, and dropped onto the ground. I followed, and drew my sword.
"So just running around, making noise."
"Pretty much. I'll Shadow Travel us everywhere."
I stopped. "Is that safe? To do without fading?" Phoenyx looked incredulously at me as she loosened her sword in it's scabbard.
"Safe? Pssh, yeah. I've practiced this my whole life. I can stay connected to the physical world rather easily. I control the Shadows, remember?"
I shrugged. "Okay. Just don't push yourself," I warned.
As it turns out, toying with the Hunters' patience was very fun. Like, the most fun I've ever had in my life. Phoenyx and I jumped around the forest terrorizing Hunters, and shooting noisemaker arrows. I was surprised at how saucy Phoenyx was with them. She constantly was yelling things like, 'Ha! I could shoot better with half my brain tied behind my back!' and 'Want a piece of me? Huh? Come get it.' One time, she called a Hunter a 'son of a Cyclops'. I cracked up at this one.
We emerged from a shadow, and I looked around quickly, scanning warily for Hunters. I swear, my heart stopped when I heard a twang, and an arrow flew towards us. Neither of us had time to react. The projectile zipped straight through Phoenyx! I couldn't believe it. I stared at her, gaping.
"Ketobleps got your tongue?" she laughed. "I just faded partially to the Shadow Layer, that's all. Now pick your chin off the ground, Nico." I shook my head, and chucked a rock into a bush. Phoenyx shot arrows tipped with noisemakers into the woods, and I summoned the dead, sending them in the direction of the Hunters. A bugle blared in the distance.
"Phase Three. We meet up with Jason," I recalled. Phoenyx nodded and closed her eyes.
"Just a sec," she told me. Her eyes opened and she took my hand. "The Shadow Spirits told me where Jason and his crew are." Well. I guess being a skiamancer is more than just Shadow Traveling around. We ventured into the Shadow Layer, passing sleepy Shadow beings pointing in the same direction. Jason jumped when we materialized. He and his gang were fighting a small group of melee Hunters, and doing a decent job at it. Phoenyx practically tossed her bow onto her shoulder and drew her sword, wedging open a gap in the circle the Hunters had around us. Pretty soon they realized they were out matched, and retreated closer to the flag. It was high up in a tree, but still visible, about a hundred yards away.
"Lets go for it," Jason ordered, and we sprinted toward the flag. Arrows flew from nearby bushes, followed with Hunters who were drawing their swords. We formed a wall around the five immortals and began to attack. The girl I was fighting was slightly more experienced than her comrades. Even still, she was no match for me. She was constantly struggling to block my attacks, and no counterattacks were even offered. I guessed she was one of the new recruits. Over a third of the Hunters were killed in the encounter with Orion, and Thalia had been desperate to find more.
The Hunter tripped over a stone and landed on her butt. Nervously, she looked up at me. My heart was in my throat. No. It wasn't her. It couldn't be. But she looked so much like her. I would have sworn she was Bianca. A feeble croak escaped my mouth.
"Bianca," I whimpered. The girl shook her head and her braids flopped side to side. In a flash, a sword was up my nose. I recovered from my stupor and parried, knocking her weapon out of hand. I motioned for the Hunter to hand over her bow and quiver. Reluctantly, she did. I stuffed her sword in my belt and followed the rest of my crew towards the flag. Phoenyx shot me a questioning look. Not now, I mouthed. She nodded, and turned her eyes back to the horizon. We were only about ten yards away from the flag, and not a Hunter was in sight. A rush of adrenalin hit me like a sugar high, and a thrill ran through my body. We were almost there. This might be the first time in like, 60 years since Camp Half-Blood won a game of Capture the Flag versus the Hunters of Artemis. Cautiously, one of the Hephaestus kids advanced. Probably searching for any mechanical traps. She gave us a thumbs up. Jason came forward dramatically, and started climbing the tree the flag was in. Not quite so gracefully. When his hand touched the flag, all the other Flag Extraction group looked around at each other excitedly, but not daring to say a word.
"Jason?" Phoenyx said uneasily.
"What?" came the muffled answer, along with a grunt.
"I have a bad feeling about thi-" Jason cursed and fell from the tree, smacking his head against the biggest branch. Luckily, he stopped a few feet from the ground. A loud siren blared, and lights popped up out of the ground. I glared at the Hephaestus girl who supposedly scouted the way.
"Run!" Jason commanded, brandishing the flag. He handed it off to one of the Stolls, and we all started sprinting to our side of the forest. Arrows flew at us, and Hunters jumped out with their blades drawn. Those with shields created a turtle like triangle around the main group, wedging our way out of the walls the Hunters formed. Both Stoll brothers were drawing closer to the halfway point. Shouts of encouragement were given to the Hermes spawn as they crossed the line. Jason fist pumped.
"Yes! Keep going! Don't stop! YOW!" An arrow grazed the top of Jason's shoulder as he celebrated. "Double time!" he barked. I pushed myself onward with the group.
"They've got our flag!" somebody cried, just as my least favorite Hunter darted from cover with our banner.
"I've got this!" Phoenyx yelled, and ducked out of the wedge. Her shadowy figure dashed in and out of the trees at an inhuman speed. I sensed she was half in the Shadow Layer, allowing her to move quicker. With how fast she was going, Thalia seemed to be creeping along at a snail's pace.
Pheonyx's POV
I slipped into the physical world a foot in front of Thalia. She stumbled, and I twisted the blade out of her hand. Her eyes flashed angrily, and she tried to smack me upside the head with the flag pole. Luckily, she only grazed my noggin, and I darkened the space around us. Thalia swung the flag wildly in a futile attempt to hit me. I ducked, and grabbed her by the jacket, pulling her down. She apparently anticipated this, and tried to turn the toss back onto me. I followed through. Once she was on the ground, I threw my sword into the ground and started to pull the flag from her hand, and at the same time, distract her with an armlock. Thalia spat in my face, but I stayed focused, forcing her arm backward. Her body twisted, and she tried to buck me off. Without thinking, I kneed her in the side, and she grunted. I cranked her arm almost to the point of breaking it, until she let go with a cry of pain.
"Fine! Take the stupid thing!" I grabbed the flag and darted back to our side of the woods as quickly as possible.
Nico's POV
My legs ached from all the running we had been doing. We were getting closer to base rather quickly, but it seemed like it was taking forever. Phoenyx appeared next to me with the flag the Hunters had stolen and fell in line. A wild grin was on her face. We had the game. Our party slowed to a walk when we touched our base. A trumpet sounded, and Chiron's voice echoed throughout the woods.
"Congratulations, Red Team! You have won the game, and broken the Hunter's record against us. Now, please make your way to the Dining Pavilion. Dinner will start in fifteen minutes." I couldn't help but smile at all the campers' excitement over winning. Percy and Clarisse were going nuts, and Annabeth and Cole were praising Maddie for the plan. I just stood there stupidly grinning. Jason walked over to me and Phoenyx, who still was in total adrenalin mode.
"That was awesome! High-five!" he said cheerfully. I obliged, and Phoenyx did too.
"Phoenyx," I started, "That was the most fun I have ever had." She laughed.
"The feeling is mutual. I haven't had this much fun in over three years." Some campers came over to Phoenyx and congratulating her on recapturing our flag. I could tell she wasn't used to the attention, and slipped closer to me to avoid it after a while.
The Hunters were, well, kicked in the butt. Badly. They would be sore about this day for many years to come. Thalia kept glaring at Phoenyx and me, and the whole group looked rag-tag. They hadn't just swallowed their pride, we shoved it down their throats.
And I'll admit. It felt pretty good.
Percy's POV
I was so pumped after winning Capture the Flag. Never once in all my time at Camp Half-Blood had we won against the Hunters. After the game was over, I directed everybody to Maddie. She was the one with the brilliant, mind blowing plan. Cole invited her to sit at the Poseidon table. Chiron saw, but was in a good enough mood to let it slide. Maddie and my sister chatted about random things, like the game, random books they had read, and something about the god of running out of toilet paper, and Studio D or something. No clue.
Everything was going pretty much great. Until we got to the campfire singalongs. Some Apollo kid had a smart idea to write a stupid song making fun of the last person on earth you want to make fun of.
Old Corpse Breath's son is a gloomy young soul
A gloomy young soul is he
Nico don't brush his hair, and he don't comb his teeth
But he talks to the dead does he
Most of the campers laughed at this verse, and I kept my peace. Phoenyx frowned slightly.
He dern't know how to speak correct
A gloomy young soul is he
He slurs like a snake, and he bites like one too
His voice is shrill like a shrew
The laughter was louder this time. I cast Jason and Annabeth anxious looks. Phoenyx's jaw was clenched.
Old Corpse Breath's son is a gloomy young soul
A gloomy young soul is-
The music died. The little moron who was playing the song stopped and that cocky smile slipped. Nico was towering over him, glaring at him. He grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him off the bench.
"Wanna sing that again?" He growled, twisting his collar in his hand. The Apollo kid gulped and shook his head. "How long have you been here?" Nico asked, his voice quiet.
"A year," the kid squeaked, glancing around for help. Nobody moved.
Nico pulled his shirt tighter around his neck. "A year? Hm. I suppose nobody told you all that I sacrificed for this camp. For your ungrateful ass." The Apollo kid, I think his name was Ben, shook his head. Again, I glanced at Annabeth. Let them work it out, she mouthed. I nodded.
"You ever heard of Tartarus, punk?" asked Nico, spitting in Ben's face, who nodded. "Yeah. I thought so. But you haven't been there, have you? Didn't think so. Well I have. For this camp. For your, ungrateful, damn, ass!" Nico yelled. Phoenyx stood up. Nico continued yelling in Ben's face. "I stayed in Tartarus for two freaking weeks! Tortured! Do you know what Akhlys said to me?" His voice was cracking. " 'Child of Hades, what more could I do to you? You are perfect! So much sorrow and pain!' Misery herself couldn't make my life worse. And now you have the nerve to mock me? Because I'm different? Because I'll never be normal? Damn you!" I rushed forward just as Nico started punching Ben, screaming curses at him.
"Nico! Stop!" I tried to pull him off the Apollo kid, but he ignored me. Phoenyx joined me, but was the only one who was able to stop the pummeling. Nico glared at her.
"Stay out of this!" he yelled, and went back to clouting Ben. Phoenyx grabbed him by the hair and dragged him backwards. She lent down and looked him in the eye.
"Nico," she said calmly, pinning him with her knee. "Cut it out. I understand how it feels to be-"
"No you don't!" Nico snapped, struggling to get away. "Nobody ever understands. Nobody. You don't know what it's like. Let me GO!" Something in Phoenyx's cold gaze stopped him. I helped Ben off the ground, and motioned for Will Solace to take him to the infirmary.
"You don't think I know?" Phoenyx asked quietly, her voice tinged with sadness. She didn't seem angry, or frustrated. "I think you're wrong. I have been to Tartarus. I lived there for a month. I think I know what it's like." Her eyes started to flash. "I've lost my family. All of it, not counting Hades. All of it." She yanked Nico to his feet. "And it was my fault." Phoenyx looked away, and tears flooded her eyes. "It was my fault!" she screamed. "I killed my family! It's my fault! It's my fault Nyk is dead! You don't think I understand? You don't understand. And you sit here throwing a pity party for yourself, and beating some stupid kid up. You have no reason to complain. You disgust me." Phoenyx spat in Nico's face and darted off.