Chapter five

Cressida trudged on the grass toward the archery field where Chiron was standing on his four hooves, his arrows and quiver on his back. The Apollo kids were practicing some shoots, and Jack was among them. Cressida watched as he flexed his arm before adjusting an arrow on the bows string, then he pulled back and shot. He hit the target accurately on the bull's eye. Cressida was impressed, but Apollo kids were naturals at Archery.

As she approached with her bow and the quiver with arrows on her back, Chiron smiled and greeted her. "I have no doubts that you will excel in this sport, Cressida." He said warmly, and then he called out to Jack.

Jack trotted over; he was wearing jeans and his orange camp T-shirt. The leather string necklace around his neck held two beads. She remembered hearing Sarah say that each bead was given to each Camp Half-Blood camper at the end of each summer, and each bead represented some important event. Jack held his bow in arm as he came toward Chiron.

"Hey Cressida," he greeted her and smiled. He had a nice smile, full of happiness and invigoration. His sun-kissed blonde hair was tousled, and his blue bright eyes were luminous in warm breeze.

"Jack, I want you to instruct Cressida on the basics of Archery. I have a meeting with the council of cloven elders." He said, and then looked down at Cressida. He was massive, towering over her with his large centaur body, and Cressida was tall. "Is that okay for you?" He asked. She nodded. Jack looked eager with anticipation as Chiron trundled away.

Jack turned to Cressida; his blue eyes reflected the suns warm beam of light. "Let's see what you got." He grinned. Cressida was regretting this already.

They've been practicing for a few hours now, and the sun was setting. Cressida suggested they should stop, but Jack refused and insisted she'd practice more. But Cressida has been missing the targets and the arrows would hit a tree or gods forbid a cocoon hiding in the bushes.

Jack went behind her, and Cressida's body went rigid. "Relax," he chuckled with amusement. "Im just adjusting your aim," Her stance was correct, and he placed her three fingers lightly on the string. She was full aware of his close proximity, but she didn't say anything.

"You know," He drawled while Cressida adjusted her bow and stance. "You don't need to worry about finding who your godly parent is, in my opinion; I'd think it's actually better to not know who it is." Little did he know, Cressida kind of half-heartedly knew who her godly parent is? "Anyway," he said quietly. "You don't need to feel distraught about it. I can see the sadness in your eyes." They locked eyes for a second when Jacks head was near her shoulder, and then he looked away.

Cressida's body tingled warmly in his presence. But it was too awkward now, so she cleared her throat and adjusted her aim then waited for his instructions.

Her body was perpendicular to the target and the shooting line, and she listened to every word Jack instructed her to do. He was the natural, anyway. He nodded in approval.

"Now raise your arrow, and take a breath. This should be done in fluid motion, so be patient and ready. Know where you're aiming at, okay?" He said quietly, placing his warm hand on her cold bony shoulder.

She nodded and raised her bow, the arrow on the string, ready. She had a clear mind, and forgot for a second that Jack was so close behind her. She was at ease, and she could feel the darkness settling in the sky. All focus was on the cut-out target a few metres in front of her; she focused intently on the red dot.

With a confident breath, she held the bow outwards toward the target. Inner elbow parallel to the ground, she drew the string back to her anchor point – around her cheek and chin. She narrowed her eyes at the red dot target with dominance and aimed. Then, with swift movement, she released the arrow. Jack gasped behind her.

She inhaled. She got right in the middle of the red dot. Perfect precision, perfect shot – the arrow hit the target, right in the middle. She didn't know how to feel about that. The sky was darker now, and the stars peaked out. She could feel all the nocturnal animals' eyes on her, and then she wondered how did she know that? She could hear whispery voices in her head, animal-like voices…

But before she could register that though, Jack clasped her on the shoulder. "That was absolutely well done, Cressida. Pretty good, you're a natural." He was beside her now, smiling.

She didn't know how to respond to his comment, she just nodded. Then he said, "Do it again." She did on the target beside it, and hit a perfect shot. He shook his head, amazed. "Maybe you're a daughter of Apollo, who knows?" She bit her lip, she isn't sure about that.

Jack kept gushing to her, and then he left with his siblings. Cressida stayed behind, she wanted to know more about those animal-like voices in her head… she knew they were nocturnal, and she knew who had full control over nocturnal animals.

She trudged near the woods, and then looked behind her to see the campers pre-occupied in their own stuff. She walked in the woods, careful not to fall over a branch.

"Up here!" A voice hissed in her head. It was a bat. How did she know it was a bat? "Daughter of night, up here!"

She stopped mid-track in her steps, her heart raced. She was definitely going crazy. She shook her head in disbelief. No, not possible. I can't talk to animals, she thought.

She could basically hear the annoyance in its voice. "Just look up here, for the love of Nyx."

She gulped; she couldn't believe she was actually obeying the stupid bat. She looked up to find a leathery bat hanging upside down a branch, its beady brown eyes glaring down at Cressida.

"Are your ears impaired girl?" It hissed, baring its fangs. Cressida raised her eyebrows. Okay, maybe I'm not crazy, she thought.

"You're talking in my head. I don't need to hear with that." She blinked. She could hear the exasperation in the bats voice. "How in the hades are you communicating with me anyway?"

The bat rolled its beady eyes – actually rolled its eyes. Who know animals could do that? "Have you not been listening? You are the daughter of Night! And Mother Night controls Nocturnal animals!" The bat made a 'cry for help' sound deep in its throat.

"I'm not…" she breathed. The dream – it can't be real, can it? Can she actually… she took a deep breath and faced the bat who was flapping its leathery wings impatiently. She couldn't believe she was actually arguing with a bat – a bat. Anger eroded inside her, she felt so annoyed, agitated over nothing. Misty shadow circled around her, though she wasn't aware of it. Her eyes shone constellations, colours of the starry night. The bat widened its beady eyes and flew its leathery wings away, making horrifying sounds. Cressida was confused; the bats eyes were so full of fear. Why?

She stomped her foot in aggravation. What the hades is happening to me? She mentally screamed. Clenching her fists, she trotted back to the campers lining up for the dining pavilion. She was furious. She didn't want to see anyone, but Sarah caught her before she could escape to the cabins.

"You know," Sarah was saying, her mouth full of roasted peanuts. "I haven't seen you smile since you came here, you radiate darkness it's actually kind of scary." Cressida wasn't offended nor was she angry anymore. Sarah still gushed to Cressida about the whole constellation-eyes thingy, Sarah was curious as to how that happened. Chiron talked to her a few times, comforting her again. She didn't tell anyone that she just talked to a bat earlier, they'd think she was nuts… In the dining pavilion, she still wasn't claimed. Nothing made sense. The dream, everything.