Kateo woke up to the sound of birds singing and the sun peeking over the mountains. He was really hoping that what he just experienced a dream, but of course it was never a dream. Just like when he died or when he ate that old deer carcass.
He opened his eyes to find himself in the same place as he was the night before, by a lake, behind some rocks. Looking to his left he spotted Maggie, the dark brown haired human he met. For some reason, he trusted her the minute he spotted her behind Jet.
He remembered the "ambrosia" she gave him, for some reason it tasted like Moro's milk. He hadn't had it since he was able to eat meat, but he recognized the creamy taste and Maggie was right, it was comforting. It kind of reminded Kateo of Moro and her promise to protect them. He shoved the memory aside and sat up bracing himself for pain, but he felt fine. His leg didn't hurt anymore.
He tried to move it, but it didn't hurt. Carefully he unwrapped the bandages and moved his toes. The leg was no longer broken, but it was scarred pretty badly. Kateo stood up and walked around a little to see if it still worked. It was stiff, but it worked. He was impressed.
"You feeling better"? Jet's voice rang in his head. Kateo turned around to find his wolf brother looking up at him with his tail wagging. "I am feeling better. That stuff really works". "Then that means I can do this", and without warning, the black wolf leaped at Kateo and shoved him to the ground. Kateo quickly rolled out from under his brother's paws and jumped up on all fours. He pulled his mask over his face and launched himself at Jet's shoulder. The wolf went tumbling to the ground and the wolf bit Kateo's shoulder in attempt to fight back. Using his hands, Kateo squeezed hard on the black fur. His jaw was too small so Kateo used his hands instead, very useful tools. The wolf let go and rolled over to find his escaped opponent. From behind the wolf, Kateo jumped on his neck and gripped the fur tightly. Jet gave a surprised yelp and rolled onto his back to get his opponent off. Kateo let go when he felt was right and like always, he was correct. Jet was slightly confused, tired, and ready to give up. He lay there with his belly up and his tongue out, panting like...well a dog. Kateo shot him a victorious look, then patted the wolf's upturned belly, letting Jet know that it was ok to sit up now.
Kateo didn't always win those games, Jet had brains too. Sometimes Kateo won, sometimes Jet, no one could say who was better. They liked it that way, they may have been two different species, but that didn't mean they weren't brothers.
Jet rolled over on his side and looked in Maggie's direction, still looking happy with his tongue hanging out. Kateo followed his gaze and his heart did a little tap dance as he saw Maggie watching them, smiling brighter than the morning sun. Kateo gave her a bright smile back as Jet trotted up to her and licked her face. He walked over and sat next to Maggie, not taking his gaze off of those glittering dark blue eyes. What the heck was happening to him?
"Kateo, about last night. We need to leave". "Why"? Kateo had no idea what he was supposed to be afraid of. Velen said the animals in the rest of the world were smaller and not as intelligent, he was sure he could fend for himself. "There are more than just lions, tigers, and bears Kateo. There are the Greek and Roman monsters that like demigods like you and me for lunch. It is not safe for us to stay in one spot".
Kateo remembered Velen talking about Greek and Roman monsters. Personally he hoped they were not real, but he trusted Maggie. "So what monsters would be around- hey". Without warning, Maggie shoved Kateo behind a cluster of rocks and put her hand over his mouth. "Shh, do not move", she said eyes wide with terror. Listening closely, Kateo heard growling and snuffling sounds from behind the rocks, and they were not Jet's. Suddenly it stopped, absolute silence.
"Is it gone"? Maggie asked nervously. Before Kateo could stop her, she peeped over the rock and almost had her head bitten off by a giant black dog with glowing red eyes. She shrieked and jumped back, face pale with fear before the beast could really get her. Jet jumped up and slammed into the dog, biting down on the creature's neck before it could strike again. It wailed in agony as Jet sunk his teeth into the dog's fur and broke its neck. Kateo nocked an arrow and aimed it at the dog's head and let it fly. The arrow cut through the wind, screaming as it flew, and buried itself deep in the dog's head, finally killing it. It stopped moving then disintegrated into yellow dust, giving Jet a big surprise.
Kateo dropped his bow and ran to help Maggie who looked like she just saw a ghost, gasping for lost breath. "Are you ok? What was that thing". Jet was hacking and coughing because some of the dust got in his throat. "T-t-that was a hellhound. A c-creature of the underworld", Maggie stammered. Kateo had heard of hellhounds before, now he knew what they are really like. "What happened to it? What is that stuff", Kateo said pointing to the yellow powder before it blew away in the wind. "That is monster dust, that is what you get when you kill a monster. Sometimes you get a spoil of war or something from them, but not all monsters". "Well that is just lame, you can't get any meat from your kill", Kateo shouted grumpily. "Actually it means that demigods don't have to clean up their mess. We have to kill these things all the time to survive and we are always busy trying not to die. Let's just forget about the hellhound and get to what I was about to say. I need to take you to one of the only places that is safe for demigods, Camp Half Blood".
Kateo wondered if he heard that right, Jet did too and cocked his head to the side, staring at Maggie with a confused look on his face. "Camp what"? "Camp Half Blood silly. Half blood is another word for demigod and Camp Half Blood is a camp for demigods". Yup he heard that right and no longer wanted to ask any questions. Kateo looked at Jet and they both silently agreed. "Alright, we will go. Now where is this 'Camp Half Blood' place"? Maggie hesitated for a second. "It is in Long Island, but I don't know how far away it is from here. We need to get to the nearest town from here to see where we are". "Well what are we waiting for, let's go", Kateo said and they began walking.
The next hour the group spent walking near the highway following the traffic. The sun had moved to the middle of the sky and small fluffy clouds stalked the horizon and peeked behind the mountains. The air was cold and windy, but Kateo wasn't the one who was having a tough time with it, Maggie was. She was shivering from the cold and the short jeans and plain orange T-shirt she was wearing wasn't helping her. Kateo had let her come under his fur covering and promised to make her some deer skin clothes when he had the time.
Finally they reached some kind of rest stop with a circle of pine trees in the middle of a green patch of grass. There were four little shops sitting around the circle each one with different items being sold. One sold snacks and the others sold maps, antiques, and what looked like screens that showed pictures on it. "Kateo and Jet, you two stay here. I will go ask where we are. Alright"? Jet and Kateo both agreed and they watched as Maggie disappeared in one of the shops.
Sorry I haven't been writing in a while. I was having trouble with school and needed some time to catch up. Anyway, keep dreaming my friends.