|
|
Post by Isaac Winters on Mar 29, 2011 20:39:16 GMT -5
 
Isaac sat on the edge of a fountain outside the apartment building. They'd stopped at his Uncle Damien's for the night. Damien had been more than willing to let them stay there, and he even knew Isaac was a demi-god which kind of had surprised Isaac. It was early morning now. He'd woken up and hadn't been able to get back to sleep, so he'd just come out here to not wake Adonia or Cyrene up too early, despite that Damien and his fiancé were both awake. Of course, he was also out here to think now. That was because of something that had happened when he'd been going through his camping backpack for clothes. He'd decided to just take a shower, change, and come out here to wait while he let the girls sleep, but while he'd been getting his clothes out he'd heard a sound like crumpling brown paper. A little searching through the pockets had revealed something he hadn't known was in there.
In one of the pockets of the bag, wrapped in brown paper, had been an army green shirt. Isaac had seen it before. It was a field uniform shirt from when his father had been in the marines. The shirt buttoned down the front with pockets on each side. Stamped over one of the pockets in fading letters was B Winters with a gap where his father's middle initial would have been. That letter had completely faded away. Along with the shirt had been a letter in an envelope bearing Isaac's name.
The letter was still in Isaac's hand now, and he looked down at it, reading it over again.
Dear Isaac,
As I write this, I can't even look at you. Not becuase I'm ashamed of you, but because every time I do your eyes show anger and betrayal. I don't blame you for feeling that way. In many ways you're still a boy, and to me you always will be. But you're growing up too, becoming a man. You've change so much even in the year you were away. I hope some day you'll be able to understand what I'm doing, and even be able to forgive me.
I want you to know I still love you. I never meant the words that I said. I was just scared, and more for you than for myself, or your step-mother, or Alice. Without you around the monsters don't attack us, but they'll attack you no matter where you are unless you're at camp. I'm scared because this isn't something I can protect you from, and you can't understand how hard it is to accept that I can't protect my son from everything, and that just being at home with us puts you in danger. I said the things I did because I knew that if you didn't want to come home you would stay at camp where you were safe. It kills me to think that you might never forgive me, but I just hope that I will some day believe this was the right thing to do, the right thing for you.
A part of me hopes that you won't see this letter, because I'm hoping to find the courage to ask for your forgiveness some day when I have come to grips with all of this. But a part of me thinks that day won't come, so you may have to be the bigger man of the two of us. I also worry that you finding this will mean you are either on or leaving on a quest, going somewhere outside of camp. But if that's the case, please wear this shirt. I want you to have a part of me with you as you set out on your journey, to remind you that the destination of every journey, the place where you always end, is home, right back where you started.
You will always have a home with me, son. I'm so sorry.
Love,
Dad
It was dated, the day being just before Isaac had returned to camp. The shirt was on him now, unbuttoned over the top of another shirt he'd brought with. He'd debated using Damien's phone to call home a few times since getting the note, but had decided to borrow a cell phone from one of his siblings or write his dad a letter when he got home. There was no point in getting his father all worked up about whether he'd return safely. It was better to let him know after he had. Still, there was one call he wanted to make.
He pulled a drachma out of his pants pocket and looked at the fountain. The sun was hitting it just right to form a rainbow, and there really wasn't anyone else around. Besides, he had two reasons to call this person. Number one, she'd be worried about him. Number two, she'd been on several quests as far as Isaac knew. He could always uses a little wisdom from his older sister to help him out on this quest. He tossed the gold coin in, whispering the prayer of offering to Iris. Then, quietly, he directed the message, "Annabeth Chase, Camp Half-Blood."
Word Count: 907
|
|
|
|
Post by Annabeth Chase on Mar 29, 2011 22:10:25 GMT -5
Annabeth lay on her bunk, trying not to be completely miserable. Things were going badly, to put it lightly. Ever since she got back from her quest, Percy had been giving her the cold shoulder - though not until after telling her off at random of course - and the complications with Luke weren’t helping. The last thing she’d heard from Percy was for her to go away and leave him alone. Not the best thing to hear from your boyfriend, followed by nearly a full week now of him avoiding her. And Luke… after one complicated meeting, they hardly spoke at all. That was partially her fault as she had no idea what to say to him, but still. He was also sort of hard to pin down. She was reminded of the fear Phobos had shown her: losing everyone she cared about, especially people like her family, and Luke, and of course Percy. And now it seemed like it was happening. Not that Percy and, to a degree, Luke were dying like in her vision, but it was almost as bad. They were here, but not accessible anymore.
She stared up at her ceiling, the architecture book lying open across her stomach, forgotten a good hour ago. Her thoughts refused to sort themselves out, though she had a feeling nothing would sort out until the problem with Percy was fixed. Great, that could take ages. She sighed and lifted her book again to make another attempt at reading when an image swam into focus practically right next to her. She jumped, automatically pushing her book aside and reaching for her dagger as she sat up, only to find herself facing an Iris-message image of Isaac, her younger brother.
“Isaac? What are you-?” Then she remembered he was on a quest with Adonia and that annoying Aphrodite girl. Not that she hadn’t known already, it was just easy to lose track with all the quests going on and everything else going on, though she still felt like a horrible sister that it had ever slipped her mind. “Where are you? How is your quest going?” She sincerely hoped this wasn’t one of those contacting Camp with bad news sort of messages. But she resolved herself that if it was, she would do her part to be supportive and helpful. Isaac didn’t look like he was in trouble, but that was never to be fully trusted. Though it was a relief to at least hear from him. He was in one piece, which was definitely good. Word Count: 426 |
|
|
|
Post by soby207 on Mar 30, 2011 11:25:52 GMT -5
[white] Hope released the arrow from her bow. Watching the slim, dark colored object fly across the field hitting the target at the other end of the field. With a smile, Hope lowered her bow walking towards the target to retrieve her arrows. When Hope had reached the target the smile on her face slowly dropped. From the distance Hope was at the arrows looked like they'd hit the bulls-eye. But up close they were only a inch and a half off from the bulls-eye. Pulling the arrows out, Hope slide them into her pouch a little upset. Hope was a excellent archer but something was a little off with Hope. There was just a feeling in her gut that told her something was wrong and more things would happen.
Heading towards her cabin, Hope stopped by the strawberry field picking a few strawberries for a little snack. Seeing the nymphs tend to the field, Hope smiled at a few that waved at her. Nymphs weren't exactly her favorite creature, but she appreciated what they did around the camp.
Finally making it back to the cabin, Hope placed her bow and back pack on her bed smiling at Annabeth. Flopping on her bed, Hope ran her fingers through her hair sighing a little bit. A long day at camp deserved a good night sleep. But before any of that, Hope got up walking to one of the shelves pulling out a book with blanket papers in it. Grabbing a pencil, Hope started sketching. Hope was starting to sketch what Olympus would look like if they moved again. It would be quiet the honor if they accepted her new design if they changed locations again.
Yawning, Hope looked at Annabeth with a smile. "Hey, do you think you could pass me my-" Before Hope could even finish, a bright light appeared giving both girls a slight scare. Getting up, Hope looked more clearly at the Iris-message. It was Isaac one of her siblings. Walking up to the message, Hope move beside Annabeth seeing her brother. "Enjoying your quest brother?" Hope asked. Sitting on Annabeth's bed trying to remember what the quest was actually about. She remember that he took two girls. One of them was a daughter of Aphrodite which seemed like a very unwise move in Hope's opinion. Hopefully the message was about good news instead of bad news. [/blockquote][/white][/size] |
|
|
|
Post by Gail Atrova on Mar 30, 2011 15:34:51 GMT -5
 ------------------------------------------------------------------This was probably one of the very few times when Gail was not carefully watching over her self-proclaimed charge, the son of Zeus named Nick Hawthorn. The past week or so, ever since he, her sister, Percy Jackson, and Luke Castellan had returned from their quest, Gail had been monitoring Nick's progress to recovery. He'd had a few broken ribs, and Gail was completely and irrevocably convinced that those injuries had been all her fault. Because just before he'd left, they'd gotten into a duel with one another, and while he'd managed to injure her ankle, she'd swiped him with her sword on the torso. One of the two gods behind everything, the god of fear that called himself Phobos, had done this to Nick. Since he'd gotten back, she'd been determined to be the one that helped him get back on track.
But currently, she was dealing with a lot of mixed feelings for the son of Zeus. He was severely complicating her life, when before it had been train, spend time with family, eat, and sleep. He infuriated her to no end, he made butterflies flutter in her stomach when he did that breathtaking grin of his, his laugh made her laugh, he made her feel lost and as if she has absolutely no idea as to what she was doing, and worst of all, Gail knew he was going to leave her. Everyone did, sooner or later. The only people who hadn't failed her were her brothers and sisters, with whom she'd hoped to spend a peaceful session with. Hence why she was currently laying on her bed, a book in hand, reading.
Gail was perfectly aware that one of her sisters, Annabeth, was dealing with a whole lot of trouble at the moment - a lot more than Gail was, actually. It was partially why she was in here instead of being out taking care of Nick. In her own silent way, she felt like she was somewhat giving some support. She wanted to be there if her sister needed to talk, but so far no major conversations had been struck up and Gail was perfectly fine with that. After all, she really didn't know how to deal with relationships or boys. Gail only dealt in concrete facts, like how males had more testosterone and females had more estrogen. That sort of stuff, she could understand, and it was fact-based principles that she applied to her everyday life. Which was also a reason as to why the book in her hand was actually a collection of gender study theses written by professionals that she'd gotten from the Manhattan library a few days ago.
Sudden movement caught Gail's eye, and she looked up sharply to see Annabeth scrambling for something, and... Isaac? But he was on a quest right now, and Gail knew that... Her thoughts broke off in the middle of that statement because she realized that Isaac wasn't actually in their cabin, it was an Iris message. Her eyes brightened and Gail swung her legs around over the bed as she grinned at the brother that was practically her twin in age. "Isaac!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "Is everything okay? Are you alright?" Instantly, her eyebrows furrowed with worry as she realized this might not entirely be a pleasure call. What if someone was hurt? What if they needed help? Well, Gail knew she'd be out the door with a pack on in a second if her dearest brother needed help.
WORD COUNT 619
|
|
|
|
Post by Isaac Winters on Mar 30, 2011 16:41:33 GMT -5
When her image finally came to him in the mist of the fountain, Annabeth seemed to take a minute to remember why Isaac would be contacting her through an Iris message. Afterward she asked him where he was and how he was doing. Before he'd really had a chance to respond though, two more faces came into view. Hope and Gail, two more of his siblings. He was guessing that Annabeth was in their cabin, and she hadn't been alone. It didn't bother him though, mostly because he missed his siblings. Hope asked if he was enjoying the quest, and Gail asked if everything was alright, her expression showing that she was worried this call wasn't being made for pleasure. It certainly could have been a call due to issues on the quest. After all, that had been the case with the message he'd intercepted from Adonia.
"Hi Annabeth, Hope, Gail," he said, smiling despite how confused his morning had still left him feeling. "Everything is fine, or mostly is. I met up with Adonia and Cyrene in Chicago, where they'd been when Xavier had abandoned them, and we stopped last night at my Uncle Damien's apartment. Turns out my dad told him I was a demi-god, so he pretty much knew and understood why we were passing through." That was something Isaac had fairly mixed reactions too still. Between the letter from his dad and the fact that Damien knew, it was obvious Isaac had been wrong about his dad. Then again, he had believed exactly what his dad had wanted him to believe.
"I'm at least currently getting along with Adonia. Cyrene is hard to understand. She's being kind of withdrawn right now, and I felt a bit awkward around her anyways because she was checking me out when I first got here." He shrugged at this, Most guys wouldn't have minded a daughter of Aphrodite checking them out. Isaac still hadn't completely grasped that this was just who Cyrene was. "I'm a little worried about some of the lines of the Prophecy that Adonia received, but it doesn't seem like we'll be dealing with those until we get to Vegas. Mostly I was calling because I know I left kind of abruptly and I thought you might be worried." And then there was the other reason, the letter from his dad. He wasn't going to bring that up just yet though.
Word Count: 420
|
|
|
|
Post by Annabeth Chase on Mar 30, 2011 21:21:12 GMT -5
Annabeth hardly noticed Hope come in. She was busy trying to distract her thoughts, messed up as they were, with the book in her hands. And Hope seemed far too bright and cheery, Annabeth almost was jealous of her, having something to be cheery about. She kept her eyes on her book, not really reading a word. Gail, at least, seemed to be a bit more understanding. She didn’t press her presence in on anyone. But that was Gail, always a very sensitive type. Annabeth had been tempted to talk to her several times over the time they’d been there in the cabin together, but had never sorted out how to begin such a conversation, or what to say. But it was nice having her there. Maybe she’d talk to her later, when she could sort out her thoughts enough to put them to words, and could catch Gail on her own again. Gail was one of the few people she believed she could trust now that those she had most closely trusted before had more or less gone away.
The interruption of Isaac’s Iris message, while surprising and, yeah, it definitely broke the silence, was welcome. It was good to see him again. Though she did feel rather bad for him, getting the sudden barrage of questions from not one but three sisters. Though, as seemed usual for him, he handled it pretty well. Annabeth had a lot of respect for Isaac in that, among many other things. She smiled and nodded here and there, especially at the comment about Cyrene being hard to understand. Wasn’t that true for anyone in that cabin really? Though the idea that she had checked Isaac out at first was sort of funny. Perhaps because he was her brother Annabeth had never really given Isaac’s appearance much thought. But leave it to an Aphrodite child to jump straight to that even before hello’s. And Adonia, well, Annabeth had never really gotten to know her too well, but she was always so cheery and happy from the times she’d seen her around Camp and she really seemed the type that it would be hard not to get along with. So, Cyrene aside, Isaac had pretty good company.
She waited patiently for Isaac to finish before speaking up. “It’s good to hear from you, Isaac. We were a little worried about how abruptly you left and all, but it seems you have things under control pretty well. Not that that’s really all that surprising. So what are these lines you’re so worried about? Vegas or not, it doesn’t hurt to try and plan ahead. Maybe we can help. If you don’t mind, of course.” She knew she herself always had wanted control on her own quests and hated asking for help or not being the one to solve the problems, but that was mostly her fatal flaw acting up. She had no idea if Isaac shared that flaw. And she also knew that without help on both of the quests she herself had been given, she would have failed. It was not something she liked to admit, but it was painfully true. Word Count: 527 |
|
|
|
Post by soby207 on Mar 31, 2011 0:23:38 GMT -5
[white] Seeing the two bodies huddled around the Iris message, Hope couldn't do anything but smile. It was good seeing her brother again. It seemed like everybody in the Athena cabin had being on a quest expect for Hope. To be truthfully honest she was a little jealous. She knew that she'd go on one sooner or later, but it was still a little annoying seeing her siblings going on Quests while Hope stayed back. It had the whole, 'you all have fun while I make supper and make sure the house is clean while you're all gone!' sort of feeling. But, besides all the jealous Hope knew that she would eventually have a Quest.
When Isaac had mentioned the Aphrodite girl, Hope smirked and chuckled a bit. Hope didn't exactly like the Aphrodite children. The only one the liked was Cameron whom she'd met in the strawberry fields. He was different, just because one was different it didn't mean the rest would be either. And from the sounds of it, this Cyrene girl fit the stereotype everybody and thought and suggested. "What do you expect brother, you have a daughter of Aphrodite on your Quest. It seemed very illogically of Adonia to take her on the Quest.
Selena was the only honorable daughter of Aphrodite. The rest need to prove themselves and obviously this girl hasn't proved anything yet, nor will she." She commented bitterly about the Aphrodite girl and the cabin.
Running her fingers through her hair. Hope listened as Isaac and Annabeth talked about the Prophecy. It was definitely interesting that's for sure. Sighing, Hope began to think. Looking at Gail and at Annabeth, Hope shrugged. "You've gone West, Vegas is were your suppose to be. Maybe the Lotus Casino? It's a powerful place. But Isaac, you do understand somebody will die according to the Prophecy? I mean, it's a scary thought and you probably don't want to be thinking about it really. But it's a possibility. Expect the unexpected little brother." Hope said quietly. [/blockquote][/white][/size] |
|
|
|
Post by Gail Atrova on Apr 1, 2011 10:24:46 GMT -5
------------------------------------------------------------------ It was good to hear that Isaac was doing reasonably alright, especially with the quest and whatnot. She'd never been on one, and she'd never begrudged anyone on that fact. Gail was still reasonably new to camp - this was only her second year, after all, she knew it wasn't really all that logical to send an inexperienced camper like herself out with monsters and the like. She was happy for Isaac that he got to go on one, and the brightness in her stormy eyes was enough to prove it to anyone who knew her. Talking to him was a luxury that she figured she wouldn't have until he returned from his quest, so right now she felt extremely privileged and happy to be talking with her brother.
"Isaac, you know we can always help. That's what we're here for," Gail supported, her eyes conveying everything she was trying to say. Pretty much, Annabeth had covered it all. His abrupt leaving had been troubling, of course, but Gail trusted Isaac enough to know that he'd done it for a darn good reason. After all, children of Athena weren't really known for running off without having something important to attend to. They were sort of reliable in that way, as Gail had discovered. She wanted to be there for every single one of her siblings, and since Isaac had been there for her whenever she needed to talk about Nick, she felt the need to repay the favor. It was simply the way Gail was wired, and it was also the reason why she was so devoted to taking care of Nick as well.
She tried to make her smile as comforting as possible, but honestly Gail didn't know what kind of an impact it was making. After all, Isaac was only one guy, and now on top of a quest he was dealing with three sisters, two of which Gail knew were extremely worried about him. And the whole fact that Isaac was worried about the quest worried Gail too. Isaac, she knew, was a guy who could take practically anything. He cared about the people he cared about, obviously, and he always seemed pretty cool about a variety of stuff. But right now, she could see it in his face that he was anxious about something - probably the prophecy. In Gail's limited experience with them, they always seemed to worry someone one way or the other.
Gail sent a glare over in Hope's direction. Was that really something appropriate to say to a brother who was already worrying about the quest? She hurriedly looked back at Isaac. "Nobody's going to die, Isaac," she said with conviction. "Death means a lot of things. Don't worry about it."
|
|
|
|
Post by Isaac Winters on Apr 1, 2011 12:19:48 GMT -5
Isaac nodded as he listened to his sisters. Gail and Annabeth were right. They could help him, and it didn't hurt to be prepared for what might come down the road. Whether or not the verses were coming true in Vegas or some time very near to now, they could try to figure out what they might mean and he could be ready for when they would occur. He wasn't sure about what Hope said, that Cyrene hadn't proved herself. She had delivered the killing blow on the gryffin the group had faced before Isaac had joined them. But she might have just landed a lucky blow or something.
Moving on, Isaac recited the Prophecy that Rachel had given Adonia, remembering what they thought they'd already run into and what certain parts of it meant.
"You will take two and go into the west
Battle beast and fear to survive this quest
Seek the city where night is as day
Seduction of power will lead you astray
Keep friends close and enemies near
Only one will see you safely here"
He shrugged after finishing the reciting. "We already figured out that part of it is telling us to go west, to Vegas, and we have an idea of what we're supposed to find there. Xavier thought that the goal was the Bow of Apollo. It's currently located somewhere in Veagas, but we're not sure where." Or rather, Adonia and Cyrene thought they knew where it was. Isaac wasn't going to count on that until they got there. "The part about seduction of power refers to when Xavier left. He went off after some powerful sword and just abandoned Cyrene and Adonia in Chicago." And that was where Isaac joined the quest. There were just two lines, the very last two, that he didn't know for sure what they meant.
"We know the line about battle the beast refers to a fight, probably one coming in Vegas. That's got me a little nervous, but not so bad. Monsters I can handle, though it sounds like it's going to be a pretty rough fight. The big problem is the last two lines. Keep friends close and enemies near isn't so bad, just confusing. It's the last line I'm worried about." And that was when Hope gave her opinion of the whole thing, stating that someone was probably going to die and to expect the unexpected. Gail tried to reassure him that wasn't the case - despite that it had been his first thought too - and he felt like banging his head against a wall because if that were the case it could only mean that he or Cyrene were going to die. It couldn't be Adonia, because she couldn't complete the quest if that were the case.
"I don't know if someone is going to die or if it's just referring to something else. I don't have any idea how only one of us will see her through if that's the case. Or maybe it's just another reference to Xavier leaving. I wasn't part of the original group. They've already lost one of the original two Adonia took." He wasn't sure though, and the not knowing was what left him the most concerned. Quests were dangerous, and it was very likely that what Hope said was true. Someone could die, and that could be why only one of them would see Adonia through to the end. He kind of hoped it meant something else though, part because he didn't want to die and also he didn't exactly wish that on Cyrene either.
Word Count: 626
|
|
|
|
Post by Annabeth Chase on Apr 6, 2011 16:36:13 GMT -5
Annabeth watched Hope out of the corner of her eye. “Don’t’ be too quick to judge, Hope. I know Cyrene can be a pain from what we’ve seen around here, but that doesn’t mean that she wouldn’t be helpful on a quest. We don’t know how she’s been acting on the quest, Hope, so you can’t rule that out.” It wasn’t that she liked sticking up for the children of Aphrodite, except maybe Silena, but she wasn’t a fan of not giving people chances at all to start with. Her face turned stony at the Lotus comment though. She had some bad experiences with that place, and knew others who did too. “Isaac, don’t go near the Lotus.” She glanced between her sisters and back to Isaac. She had no desire to lose her brother to that place.
She fell silent and listened to Isaac’s explanations, though Hope was not helping. She joined Gail in shooting her a quick glare that clearly said ‘shut up’ when she mentioned death. Poor Isaac had enough on his plate. Going on quests was hard enough and things like prophecies that even vaguely hinted at death never fully left your conscious. Nodding slightly in agreement with Gail, she added, “Prophecies are confusing by nature. I’ve been on several quests where I was pretty sure the prophecy told me a party member or myself were going die and it didn’t happen. You can’t expect it to happen, only keep going as you are and let the prophecy sort itself. Only one will see you safely here… that could just be that one would have to stay behind in another location in order for you to reach your goal. Or it could mean anything really. Best just to be prepared for anything and cross that bridge when you get to it. As hard as that may sometimes be. But there is nothing saying someone will die.”
She knew Isaac would not take it well if someone did die. He was always so caring and protective, knowing him he’d take it hard. And gods forbid he be the one who died. If he did, then this cabin wouldn’t be the same. But no, she had to stick by what she said. That line could mean absolutely anything. It didn’t mean someone was going to die necessarily. Her first prophecy had said “child of Athena’s final stand” for goodness sake and she was still here. That hadn’t seemed much more blunt and to-the-point then, but even that had another meaning. Isaac was not going to die. And neither were Adonia or Cyrene. Word Count: 434
Note: Sorry it's so short! |
|
