(A/N) Sorry about the long update, I hve a lot of schoolwork and other stories to work on.
Disclaimer: I *snap* do *snap* not *snap snap snap* own *snap* PJO
Introducing: Chapter Titles!
It was only a matter of time before the other demons caught on that they were approaching.
The ragtag team that was almost as diverse as New York City had hunkered down after traveling for three days straight, which left them hovering somewhere around the Canadian border. Even though the foliage on the trees blocked most of it, Will couldn't help but admire the brilliant oranges and pinks that were streaked across the sky like a painting, the sky obtaining a darker hue but not exactly navy yet. The thin clouds hovered this way and that, but otherwise it was clear and cheerful, a beautiful day for anyone who didn't know that a demonic army was planning on slaughtering everyone and their mother, but still nice nonetheless. The demons had been the ones to call it quits, after days of nonstop running for them, and the Hunters of Artemis had grudgingly complied to set up camp. At the moment, the demons were out hunting; Perseus and Alpheus had went off to the nearest mortal village while Orion was content to lope around after deer and other animals.
Needless to say, Will felt exposed. The demons had assured them that if another demon was in their vicinity, they'd certainly know about it before they were even close, but Will couldn't help but wonder if, while on the trail of a potential meal, they would completely disregard their scent, whether it by accident or not. The Hunters and the demigods would all be slaughtered in a bloodbath and the demons would return to a ransacked camp. He shook his head clear, deciding that those thoughts were wandering into territory that he would rather not explore, and hunkered down next to Nico in their shared sleeping bag. They were nestled in between the tangled roots of an oak, the tree leaning over and seeming to shelter them with its branches. Either that or it was trying to cage them in and make a meal out of them.
Will tried to concentrate on falling asleep, even though it wasn't sundown yet, but Nico had passed out almost immediately after Will had crawled in, and the son of Apollo wouldn't want to move and wake him. He didn't really have to sleep, he could always do so on Alpheus' back and do it just as easily as if he were in a sleeping bag, but he kind of wanted to stay with his boyfriend. They seldom saw each other on their separate demonic steeds, and the demons had insisted that they remain apart so that, under dire circumstances if they had to run or fight, they wouldn't be weighed down. The real message was obvious, though: If one of us is attacked only one of you will die and not two of you. He didn't want to think of dying and leaving Nico alone, nor could he think vice versa, and he hugged Nico more tightly, as if he'd disappear if he didn't hold on. The son of Hades grumbled a bit in his sleep but didn't wake.
This quest sucked ass, Will soon decided. Even though there was less fighting and more going crazy with anxiety about the impending doom that awaited them, it was beginning to take a toll on him. Sure, Alfie's fur was much thicker than the other demons' and much more plushy and soft, but he didn't like being on his back all day. It was like driving in a car for twenty-four hours straight, only stopping to take a piss and eat, and he was growing increasingly bored. He couldn't see his boyfriend, and more importantly the two of them couldn't go at it without waking up the entire camp, and Nico had absolutely zero exhibition kinks and would clout Will upside the head if they were caught. Will's libido was left unsated, and it didn't help that Nico's back was pressed tightly against the son of Apollo's front in the confines of the sleeping bag. He sighed and brushed away a stray lock of black hair that'd fallen into his lover's eyes, and just took in the sight of him. The wave of overpowering love that slammed into him was absolute in every way, so much that the resolve to marry Nico one day thickened to near indestructibility. As long as Nico was on board, he was going to marry the ever-loving fuck out of his boyfriend if it was the last thing he did.
Almost as soon as felt his eyes drooping, lulling himself to bed with fantasies of white picket fences, two and a half kids, and maybe a dog or two, he was shocked out of the foggy haze of almost-sleep by a deafening bellow. His blood became ice in his veins as he quickly shook Nico awake, his eyes darting around as the Hunters all leapt into action, drawing their bows and arrows and going to investigate. He fumbled for his bow and quiver full of arrows, and Nico seemed to pull his Stygian Iron sword from nowhere as he blinked around blearily. Jason had been woken by the roar, and was stumbling around blindly in search of his glasses. Considering his very much deadly sword flailed around as he did so, Will immediately helped the son of Zeus out before he turned someone into a human shish-kebab on accident.
The three demigods, still half-asleep, staggered after the huntresses, tripping over protruding stones and crafty tree roots as they followed the barking of the wolves and the maidens' calls to one another through the trees. Will felt incredibly lucky that they didn't sprain their ankles in the process, but when they caught up to the Hunters Will's post-sleep haze withdrew so quickly he swore his mind got whiplash. His heart gave a stutter and relocated itself into the son of Apollo's throat, blood roaring in his ears as he tried to shoulder his way through the gathering crowd to get to the middle. Claw marks had marred the surrounding trees, and deep gauges delved into the ground made it easy to stumble, a sign of struggle at least. The metallic tang of blood was sharp in the air, and when he, Nico, and Jason had finally managed to wriggle their way to the front, he was pretty sure his heart stopped at that point.
On the ground was a furry mass, only they knew that furry mass. The russet fur was matted and clumped with blood that was still flowing and fresh, though Will could see the beginnings of it drying and beginning to crust and flake. The delicate membranes of the two sets of wings had been shredded, the glowing white of bones peeking out from where they'd been snapped. Instead of a tail there was just a bloodied stump, and serrated claws had left his flank mangled and one of his heads, the bear one, was missing completely. Thalia was crouched by the body, her expression pinched but portraying nothing, however from knowing the huntress for so long he could see that she was upset. Who wouldn't be?
Orion was dead.
Perseus and Alpheus stood off to the side, gazing forlornly at the disfigured corpse of what had once been their ally, and Will couldn't help but choke on a sob. Orion had been the most kind of all the demons. Nico had taken a particular liking to him, having ridden on his back for most of the journey, and he'd relayed to Will the fantastical stories that the demon had told him on the trip, speaking of monsters beyond one's imagination and blood-pumping hunts through forests that mortals couldn't find, ones that were so big that they made the Siberian wilderness seem pale in comparison. He'd been polite and willing to leave his sanctuary, his haven, in the Isles of the Blest to help the demigods win this war. And look where that got him. Will always knew that demigods had terrible luck, and this was proof of that. Had Orion just stayed where he was in paradise, he would've been safe. Then again, Will recalled how Nico had told him how happy Orion was to be back in the Hunt, how every other sentence was a praise to the huntresses, and at least Will knew he'd died happy. In agony, but happy.
They were allowed to pick their way over to the massive body, still and silent. Will knew that if it'd been Perseus or Alpheus he wouldn't've mourned as much; at least Orion had tried to stay on a no-human diet. These two hadn't even tried, and just a reminder that it was Perseus' fault that this happened at all. If he'd just let the past go it would've made everyone's life so much easier. Alpheus was cold. Reserved. He didn't talk to Will when he was on his back, only carried him because it was absolutely necessary, and was just an all-around creep. At least with his humor and attitude Perseus could pass as a human, but Alpheus was clearly otherworldly. It was unnerving.
"He fought," Thalia said softly, rising to her feet and looking down in disgust at the bloodied stump that'd once been one of Orion's heads. "He was still breathing when we found him." Another girl was with her, Will soon realized, and she was sobbing outwardly, her sides heaving as she cradled Orion's lifeless lion head in her lap, stroking his mane tenderly and closing his blank, unseeing golden eyes. Following the three demigods' questioning glances, she sighed, "That's Imogen. After the battle with the titans and the Giants, the Hunters of Artemis sustained heavy casualties. After Phoebe, Naomi, and Celyn died…she became the last one of the Huntresses who'd hunted with Orion." The Huntress either didn't hear them talking about her or didn't care, too busy whispering nonsense that must've been inside jokes they'd shared between them.
"How many manticores does it take to light a torch? C'mon you know the answer," she choked. Her voice was barely a rasp, "Please."
"They were close." Imogen let out a wail of mourning, burying her face against the demon's. "We should give her some time. She…she talked to him until his heart stopped." Thalia steered them away with a guiding but firm hand, and Will cast one glance back as the Huntress curled up in the crook of Orion's neck and wept.
"How'd he die?" he whispered after a long stretch of silence, despite the fact that they were well out of earshot of everyone else. "I didn't see the…erm…'finishing blow'." Nico and Jason gave him looks that were their 'Will you're being too insensitive' looks, and the son of Apollo decided to drop it when he saw Thalia's shoulders tense. Orion had bonded with all of the new Hunters easily, including Thalia herself, and if you didn't find him hunting or napping, you found him chatting with the Huntresses. Not flirting with them, not mouthing them or teasing them, but just talking. There were many nights where the whole group surrounded the blazing fire while Orion told his tales of woe, his eyes bright and sparkling as he acted out the whole thing with his hands, as much of an entertainer as he was an incredible storyteller.
"He bled out in a couple of minutes," the daughter of Zeus rasped, and it was clear that she was on the verge of tears. "Severed artery." She sighed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve in her attempt to seem indifferent. "I want to kill the son of a bitch who did it. Orion didn't deserve this." Will could only agree wholeheartedly, and he and the other two demigods exchanged a look.
"Do you have any idea who could've done it?" Jason questioned. "Now we're one demon short. Our chances of winning this become all the more smaller."
"Thanks for your optimism, Jase," Nico snapped, but Will could see how he'd paled, for the first time considering the whole situation. The loss of Orion was the loss of their only trustworthy soldier. For all they knew, Perseus and Alpheus were only being held in line by the older demons' power, and now that they were untethered they'd walk out on them. A chill went up Will's spine at the prospect, and he could only hope that the demons weren't thinking the same thing. They hadn't slaughtered everyone yet, so that was a good sign, but the demons would only be in it if they were benefitting. When Orion was alive, there was the threat of death, but now that there was no one to threaten them, no one that could even make them feel pain, there was a very large chance that they'd back out, considering their odds also dropped by an infinite percent. With no chance of winning, or survival for that matter, why would the demons stick around anyway? Will certainly wouldn't.
They could only pray.
-Ω-
"I have to go," Alfie abruptly said while they were stalking a particularly obese woman walking her even more obese Chihuahua. Perseus gave him an incredulous look, quirking an eyebrow.
"Dude, we're in the middle of something," he grunted, licking his chops as the woman powered along without any care in the world, completely and totally oblivious of two demons eying her from the underbrush as if she were a slab of rare steak. His stomach gave a low growl, and he gave Alfie a pointed look as if to say, "Even my stomach agrees, asshat." His twin didn't respond, his expression chilling, and turned on his heel to set off through the trees. Perseus watched him go, turning back to find the woman already rounding the bend. She wasn't worth it, anyway, and he couldn't finish her all by himself, especially with the dog as dessert. He was growing increasingly worried about his brother, per the norm, but there was something to his gait that told Perseus that his twin was a man with a mission. A dangerous and perhaps very, very bad mission. Grudgingly, he settled for a drunken lowlife who nobody would miss, the alcohol in his blood tasting foul as he buried his teeth to the hilt in the man's jugular. After eating his fill and nearly chucking it into a bush, he managed to keep the meal down as he set off towards camp, following his twin's scent.
It was confusing, a tangle of scents and paths his twin took crisscrossing through the forest, and thirty minutes in he still hadn't found the freshest trail. He padded through the forest, growing more panicked by the second; was Alfie back at camp? Then again, he would've caught trace of him. They had to leave, and soon, and Perseus didn't want to leave the Hunters waiting. Otherwise they'd get incredibly pissy, and the measly demigods would back them up without question, considering Perseus was well aware of their mistrust and hatred for him and his twin, though it was never voiced aloud. He found a dead deer that had been felled by Orion earlier, but the demon's scent was stale, which was odd considering the buck was left mostly uneaten. With something as unfulfilling as deer blood, Perseus was almost certain he would've chowed down on every available morsel. What was also odd was the fact that Alfie's scent mingled with Orion's, and that they'd gone off together. What his brother would want with the demon who killed him, Perseus didn't know.
Until he did.
By the time he found his twin, he was already washing the blood away in the stream, watching the water stain red, and Perseus could only shiver at how inhuman he looked. He didn't look like he had any shred of humanity left as he grinned toothily and his eyes slit like a viper's.
-Ω-
"Oh, hello there," Cain chuckled, his eyes sparkling humorlessly. Orion cowered, ignoring the sting of the snow on his blackened fingers. "I see my little attack dog has lived up to the hype." One could see the situation dawning on the demon as his golden eyes gleamed with only a single emotion: fear. He tried to crawl away, but he was too weak, too unused to the bitter cold of Hell. The father of murder grabbed the demon by the collar and spun him around, his shadow falling over him. "We're going to have so much fun."