Percy's POV:
"Come on Annabeth, they are right behind us!" A masculine voice shouted. It didn't sound that far away, just ahead of me actually. I can't let anything happen to them, not as long as I'm here anyway. Propelling myself forward, I jumped from branch to branch, swinging around like a monkey. "Hurry up! We're almost there!" Almost where? I looked down and saw four figures running as fast as their little legs could make them go. Directly on their tails was a horde of monsters. About ten hellhounds, a dozen cyclops, and only a few dracaena. What did those kids do? Welp I guess it's now or never.
"Tally-hoe!" I have no idea where that came from as I shouted in dropping in the middle of all the action, like some sort of lunatic. I landed with a solid thud, sending a shockwave through the ground, grabbing the attention of monsters and kids alike. I Wasted no time to admire the astonished faces all around me as I sprint towards the dracaena first.
There was one problem though, they were in the very back.
"Hey! What are-" That's all I heard before I just zoned them out. First I needed to get past the hellhounds. Using the first one's nose as a springboard, I flew past the first four and landed on the back of the fifth. I then preceded to jump from back to back, careful to avoid their salivating mouths, as one them accidently bit into one of his friends. Ouch. Nearing the back of the pack, a cyclops thought he could get me.
Pfft what an idiot. Swinging down his pipe with all his strength. He smashed a hellhound into the dirt, while I rolled out of the way. Turning the hell dog into dust.
Sliding under the legs of the first cyclops, I then jumped over a club trying to smash my face in. Ducking and weaving past the rest to find the dracaena were equipped with bows. Reaching for the daggers strapped to my ankles, I threw them at the freaky snake ladies. I watched them sail through the air with such elegance I wanted to cry. Only to hit the dirt directly in front of them. The snake ladies startled, not knowing how to react.
Perfect. I charged right at them before they even managed to nock their arrows. Punching the first one directly in the face, then grabbing her bow and swinging it over neck and pulled. Letting go, as it launched forward and knocked her unconscious. Ha- No time to laugh. Rolling backwards, I grabbed the tails of the other two and pulled backwards, knocking them off balance. I then jumped up and grabbing their two heads, smashing them together. Knocking them unconscious as well. This is going to be very hard. One versus twenty-two, I got this. I turned around and wasn't surprised with what I saw. But, I feel like I should be.
Since I humiliated them, the cyclops and hellhounds forgot about the other four. Focusing solely on me. Good. Now they are charging me blindly with rage. Best combo. The hellhounds beat the big boys to me and the closest one pounced. Falling on my back I propped my legs up and used his momentum against him, kicking him into a tree behind me head first. Instant KO. Twenty-one more. Why is everything behind me?
Oh right, I keep turning around.
Rolling to my right side I barely dodged a pair of claws. Only to narrowly avoid another pair skimming my forehead. I was trapped between two very hungry dogs. Great. Just great. "Wait! He called you fat." I said pointing to the one on my left. Causing the one on my right to jump over me and attack his pal. "I can't believe that worked!" I shouted astounded, my plans never work! Rolling back on my hands I pushed up and landed upright. I spared a glance to my left and see the hellhound actually killed his pack partner. Okay twenty more.
I rushed forward, hoping my bluff does something... Yes! They flinched, that is all I needed. Using the thigh of the closest cyclops to jump up, I kicked his cheek with all my strength. Forcing him to stumble into his overgrown friend, knocking them both over. I landed on his neck and taunted, "Hey fugly, you can kiss my-" Was all I said before he swung his club downward on his friends as I jumped down, beating them to a pulp before he realized I wasn't there. Eighteen. I love their stupidity.
"You're so dead!" A cyclops shouted, sounding vaguely like a women. I don't know, they all look the same to me. Big and dumb with a hint of ego.
Not having a weapon is making this really annoying. Like come on, a little help would be nice. Ah no time to doddle, I guess I can use it. I reached for the closest branch I could find and climbed up a little.
Just enough to be five or so feet above their heads. They lost sight of me and spread out. Trying to catch a glimpse me. Good luck!
I reach into my pocket and take something out. It is time for my secret weapon... I begin to play a lullaby. With a single double flute, made out of cherry wood. A single mouth piece that branches out to two pipes, one for each hand. I take a deep breath and play a soft tune to start off with (Narnia-Lullaby). I increasingly get more intense. Channeling some nature magic through the flute directing it towards the monsters only.
Phoebe told me to do this only when I needed time to get to safety or to gain some time to finish off as much as possible. She taught me this lullaby as a last resort, because sometimes you just don't have the time. Or you need a little more. The magic doesn't last long, at most thirty seconds depending on the size of monster whom I'm trying to influence. The more I practice, the longer it should hold out.
As I continued to play, the hellhounds were the first to collapse, falling asleep really quickly. Also making the cyclops sway and drop whatever weapons they were holding. I channeled a little more magic, having their eyelids feel extremely heavy. One by one falling asleep and snoring until no one else was left standing. None.
Putting the flute back into my pocket, I jump down. I can't waste anytime, so I turn towards the four kids and run at them. The two biggest drew their weapons and the youngest stumbled to grab her own dagger. "Sweet! Weapons!" I said with glee and a smile on my face, not slowing down. Sliding to a stop in front of the smallest girl. I swipe the dagger from her hand and spin on my heels. Doing a full one-eighty and running off, giggling like a maniac. "Hey give that back!" I heard someone seethe behind me.
Quickly running to each monster that lay scattered around, I began stabbing them. In the head, heart, neck, it didn't matter. I just needed to kill them before they woke up.
Finishing them off one by one before my time was up. Thank the gods Asea got my speed to increase.
"There all done! Now-" *Crack* some lightning struck the ground in front of me. "Miss me, miss me!
Now you gotta catch me!" I said laughing a little. Jumping to the nearest branch, shuffling my way up. Quickly hiding in the tree canopy. As silent as a ninja, I jump from branch to branch getting right above them. They stood back to back leaving the middle exposed. This'll be good. I fall down right in the center completely silent: "Ahem." That got their attention. The four bring their weapons around. A spear at my forehead, sword at my throat, fists at the ready, and pipes? In my face. "Wow chill!"
"Yo-you're just a kid!" A boy with blonde hair and blue eyes says. Confusion evident on his face.
"And you're just a teenager! Now please put down your weapons and pipes." The one holding the pipes became flustered. "I came to help you guys."
"How do we know this isn't a trick." The same boy asked. Oh they've been tricked before. Yeah, I don't like it when that happens.
"I could've played my flute and caused you guys to sleep too. Or throw my daggers at you. Or ran away. Or-" I was cut off by a girl with electric blue eyes and short black hair.
"OK! We get it... Uhhh? What the hell happened to your shirt?" She said showing the slightest hint of a blushson her face. Then her eyes diverted to my scar. The only scar that I had. The star shaped one taking a giant chunk on my side. Their faces slowly filled with pity. I could tell they wanted to ask, but wouldn't. I can't deal with those faces so let's change the atmosphere.
"Because I never owned a shirt. Duh."
"What!" The four of them shouted in unison. Why is that so weird? Should it be weird?
"You don't have to shout. I'm right here. And can you please put down your weapons. I don't want to be skewered when you guys get excited."
"Sorry." The big boy said. Each slowing putting their things away. Except for the youngest girl, who kept her fists up and sported an angry expression. She had honey-blond hair and stormy gray eyes.
"What's with the blonde?" I asked pointing at her with my thumb, earning a kick to the shin. Buuutttt, she grabbed her ankle and jumped mumbling how much it hurts. "Oh the dagger. Sorry about that." I said extending the dagger back to her, smiling like I did nothing wrong. She grabbed it and grabbed her foot as it ached. If only I had some water.
"What are you doing out here?" The boy that was gonna attack me with pipes asked. He had curly brown hair, brown eyes, small horns, and a wispy beard asked. Wait. Horns? Must be a satyr.
"Can I get your names first? I don't want to refer you to blonde one, blonde two, spear lady, and goat boy here." I asked pointing directly at the curl-haired one. Shock shown on his face.
"How-" He began.
"Horns. Dead giveaway."
"Ok then I'm Luke." The blonde with blue eyes said, "Thalia." The electric blue eyed one and short black hair mentioned, "Annabeth." The honey-blonde with stormy grey eyes said, "Grover." The one with curly brown hair and brown eyes stated. "What's your name?" Annabeth asked.
"I can't tell you." I smirked.
"And why is that?" Annabeth asked irritably.
"Technically I am dead. Plus you guys are strangers."
"That's not fair! And we gave you our names, so technically we're no longer strangers. Ha!" Thalia whined. I can't believe they overlooked the dead part.
"Nooo, now you're strangers with names. Anyway, I should leave." I told them.
"Why don't you join us? Come with us to camp?" Grover asked, his face shows that he finally realized that they weren't dealing with an average human. If my skills in combat and ability to play a magical flute weren't already a dead give away. Seriously though, what camp? "I can smell the demigod scent coming off of you. And it's strong, a lot stronger than the daughter of Zeus's and the other two combined. You won't survive on your own. Plus you look about ten? And that means your scent is only going to get stronger. There is a camp, that's where we're headed, and it's the only safe place for demigods like yourself. We can figure out who your parent is and a lot of other things." Grover reasoned out. My scent is only to get stronger. Huh. That isn't reassuring, and I don't want my family to get hurt because of it. But I kept a composed face, with a sly little smirk.
"No, I don't think I will." I responded confidently, "And what do you mean ten? I'm only seven!" That part irritated me, like come on I don't want to look old.
"SEVEN?!" They shouted, hurting my ears. Annabeth looked perplexed, Luke astounded, Grover like he was about to pass out, and Thalia a little disappointed? "Wait! Hold up!" Luke barged in, "We can worry about that later. Why? Why not come with us? You are all alone and some one with even your skills can't survive for the rest of your life. Not even the gods seem to care about you. It is only going to get
"I know. It's not like I am completely ignorant about what's going on. And no matter how tempting you make it, I'm not going to go with you guys." I mention, not willing to change my mind.
"Don't be an idiot! You'll die out here! We can protect you and even give you a family. We know what's it's Ise to not have one. The three of us" Thalia gestured to Luke and Annabeth, "come from broken homes. We don't know what happened to you, but we don't care if that's what you're worried about. We look after each other no matter what."
"I don't remember ever saying I was alone, or didn't have a family. I believe you guys, I really do, but I'm definitely not alone. And the reason the gods don't seem to care about me is because they all think I'm dead. They must really get confused when they receive an offering from me. HHAhhah if only I can see the look on their faces."
"But-" Annabeth started before I cut off.
"But nothing. I am happy. Seriously. In all honesty, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now."
"Please?" The two ladies asked with so much concern, it concerned me.
"How about this? I swear on the Styx that we will meet again in this life. Alive." Apparently that didn't do it for them or they don't know what it means,
"That means that if I don't fulfill my promise then I
die. Simple as that." Thunder clapping in the distance sealing the oath. Grover knew what it meant, but the other's eyes grew wide and mouths open. This is gonna be good.
"Why would you do that!? Do you have any idea how stupid that was?" Thalia and Annabeth scolded me both having very strong opinions. "Take it back! You can't die because of us." "I won't let you." They said trying to grab me. Not gonna happen, so I jumped away from them.
"Jeez, settle down. I can't take it back and don't plan to. It's a done deal." I looked up to the sky and noticed the stars were out.
"*Sigh* and now it's time for me to go home." Mom is going to kill me. I
don't know which one, but I'm definitely a dead man. If Phoebe doesn't beat them to the punch. I'm so screwed. Better hurry and get it over with at least. I turned around and climbed the nearest tree. Like a pro.
"Wait!" They shouted, however I didn't stop. Using the stars to navigate as I began my retardedly long trek home. Their shouts dimming out as I continued to rush home. Staying close to the top the treetops reached high above the ground, almost touching the sky. The thin branches swayed easily, translucent green leaves flapping around uncontrollably. The limbs looked like they were about to break when the plump young bird sat on one of the uppermost branches, seemingly completely oblivious to the winds battering about its branches in the sky domain.
The woods were where I truly felt free. In this nature's hug of ever open arms of brown, cozy beneath the canopy of greens, there is a welcoming spirit that calls. It is as if there is something in me the trees can feel and they chatter to it, my connection to my friends perhaps. There is a softness to the woodland floor, to the moss that supports and springs back. In the forest I breathe in every way that it is possible to expand: in lungs, in brain, in soul. In the forest there is a sense of kinship with the flora, of an ancient soul that stretches into everything that lives. It is here under the nascent rays of a sun born to rise each day that I am so very alive. How could I not love the forest so? From simple seed, with mud, water and sun, comes all this, these towering gentle giants that are so anchoring to all that I am. To my family.
I was so engrossed in my thoughts, time began to slip away. Night turning back to early morning. The sun blooms on the horizon, golden petals stretching ever outwards into the rich blue. It is the brilliant flower of the sky that warms our days. It is the invitation to a new day, that sunrise so ordinary extraordinary. No matter how many times I watch it. It always magnificent to look at.
With my body in auto pilot and my mind lost in the beauty of my home. I didn't realize how close I was getting until I hit it. Literally. One moment I am rushing forward, eyes on the path ahead. The next I am flying in a superman pose, yet my expression is one of shock and horror. My left foot should have extended to take my weight, instead it is caught on nothing, but the open sky. I start to fall, hitting the dirt sending a plume of dry mud skyward. My groan is enough to drain Momma's face and she drops her basket of berries, no doubt for breakfast, as she rushes forward. "Percy!" Her shout waking up everything in a mile radius. Nymphs melting out of their trees and calling forth Asea, Amphite, and of course Kyrene. My mom didn't even stop as she tackled me full force, knocking the wind right out of me. Hugging the Hades out of me. I was not expecting that.
"Do you have any idea how worried we were about you? My gods what happened? Are you ok? Where are you hurt?" She worried like a mom would. I feel bad that I made her worry so much. Next I know is I'm getting attacked by all sides... with hugs. Was everyone in this dog-pile? Sure feels like it. A minute or so later, they began getting off one by one. I nearly suffocated and at long last I felt normal. refilling my longs. "Tell us everything!" Asea, Amphite, Phoebe, Nasaea, and Kyrene insisted. So I did, not sparing a single detail.
"At least you're ok." Nasaea calmly stated. I looked at every one else, yet they felt the same way she did.
"Huh! You're not gonna beat me? Or feed me to the alligators after what I just pulled?"
"Oh you're definitely in trouble young man." Figures, "But even so, you jumped in and saved other people's lives at the risk of your own. I couldn't be more proud than I am at the moment." Praise?! I'm getting praise! That's it, we're all crazy. That's the only thing that makes sense.
But something else felt off, I don't know. Just a bad feeling something bad is gonna happen. And soon. I don't want them to get hurt because of me. What if I'm the cause of their deaths? What if my scent brings the monsters here? I can't let that happen. I won't let that happen.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled, my voice beginning to shake. Slowly I sobbed into their chests unceasingly, hands clutching at one of their sides. She held me in silence, rocking me slowly as my tears soaked her chest. A tiny lapse let me pull away, blinking lashes heavy with tears, before I collapsed again, my howls of misery worsening. The pain must have come in waves, minutes of sobbing broken apart by short pauses for recovering breaths, before hurling me back into the outstretched arms of my grief. I don't know what came over me. "Moms? Phoebe? Everyone? I won't let anything ever happen to you guys. I swear it. So I've decided-"
"We know, just not yet. Please. We still have time." One of them said. I couldn't tell who though. I didn't have the voice to say anything. So I nodded. Feeling the loving arms of everyone I care for. I just continued to sob well into the day.