That Much Harder [Ryan, Open]

[Avery Reynolds]

There was a flash, and suddenly in the shallows of the lake, there were two campers that had returned from their quest. And neither of them were in good shape. Avery Reynolds, the older of the two and a daughter of Hermes, crumpled into the water the instant she felt ground underneath her feet. She crashed into the shallow water with a splash, cradling her broken wrist and holding back another scream when her head bashed against the sand. She rolled over onto her side, spitting out water and holding her head above the small waves. The dry sand was only a few yards away, but she seemed unable to move. The pain that had captivated her back at the island had only increased tenfold. Avery groaned, tightly closing her eyes, not wanting to see her wrist that was bent the wrong way. There was blood and grime all over her. All in all, it wasn't her best day.

Granted, she'd survived everything, but the problem was that Avery couldn't say the same for another member of their group, who should have returned with them. Aria. The fiery little daughter of Apollo who couldn't swim. And Avery hadn't been enough to save her. All of a sudden, everything came and hit Avery like a brick wall. They had returned from their quest one short. Losing Aria hadn't seemed so bad when it had seemed that they would be joining her soon. But now that it was practically guaranteed that they would live through, the fact that Aria was dead seemed to stare Avery in the face. And she couldn't bear it. On the island, she had tried to keep everything together. But she'd been bursting at the seams.

Now, all of it seemed to bust down the wall that she'd built like a flood, and she felt like she was drowning in everything she'd ever felt. It didn't really help that she was in the water, with water lapping around her ears and the lower part of her body as she lay there crumpled with her head barely above the water. Avery sobbed, partially in physical pain but mostly because of the mental anguish she was experiencing right now. Aria was gone. Aria had died, because she wasn't good enough - she hadn't been enough to save her. And now she was back at a camp, a camp where hardly anybody cared about what happened to her. Deimos had said so himself. Maybe it would have been better if she'd died on that island. But she'd never say that aloud to Ryan.

Ryan. Her little buddy. Avery bit her lip, holding back even more tears from overflowing, and looked around for him. She could hear him somewhere near her. "Little buddy," she called out, choking on her own voice, practically. "We... we made it." Avery desperately tried to stop her sobbing, to stop the tears that were slipping down her cheeks. She needed to be strong, at least until her little buddy was somewhere far away where he wouldn't see her break down. But then again, he already was. "I need..." Gods, Avery hated admitting this. "I need help getting up. See if... see if there's someone around who can help. I don't think you can carry me all the way to the Big House." Avery winced as she said this, having accidentally moved her wrist.

All she knew was that they were home, and Aria wasn't. This only brought more tears to her eyes as they slipped down her cheeks into the freshwater below.

[Ryan Simons]

Crashing into water, panicking and then falling onto his already shot left side wasn't a great idea. Then again, the fifteen year old was filled with so many of them (all sarcasm intended). Ryan had no idea what teleporting was going to be like, so, naturally, his body moved against it. The against it seemed to involve him half swaying and ready to move once his feet reached something or nothing and then toppling over and onto his left side.

Graceful? Logical? No. He had his staff in his right hand and could of used it for balance, but no. Being graceful and logical were the two things that were on the bottom of his list to be worried about. What he cared about was that he was in water again and that he couldn't see Avery for a second or two. Ryan went on almost full panic attack before he remembered that he felt land underneath him when they initially landed. He struggled to go right side up, but in order to do so, had to push with his left arm. He forced himself not to yell, but grimaced; he felt his face twist in pain as he felt all the slash marks along his arm open wider; his arm started to shake even more violently than before.

Ryan finally managed to scramble into an odd sitting position, somewhat resembling a squat. From that position, he was able to shakily stand up. He turned around immediately upon hearing Avery's voice. They had indeed made it. "Oh my gods you did it..." he exhaled, staring around at the lake. Their own lake at Camp. "Avery you're the best," he said sincerely, swallowing down the lump in his throat. He turned around to see tears streaming down the daughter of Hermes' face and understood. Aria, Deimos, injuries in both ways. It was just like a wave that was continually building up until it couldn't anymore and crashed. Like the boat had crashed, reality crashed. By the looks of it, Avery had crashed too. Ryan felt like he wasn't that far behind.

They had made it... they were back at Camp. It took a few seconds of him looking around and making sure that it all suddenly wouldn't disappear on him to believe it. They were back at Camp. All of the sudden, he didn't feel that good; it felt like something had smashed into his head. He saw stars that blackened his vision and felt his body sway. They were off of the land mass where Ryan had vowed to himself to stay together for the sake of Avery and so they could get away from wherever they were. But now, they were off... Ryan felt several thing smash into him at once. It was a dead end from here. The dream, Aria dead, the spirits, him starting a war. Quite suddenly, felt like he was going to start to break down like Avery.

So many times he had convinced that he was just going to die, and he had been at total peace with that. He didn't fear death and no one would care if he had died (idea backed up from four people plus one god in less than an hour). Already information he knew. No one would care that he was hurt and no one would of cared if he had died. Camp would of probably of liked him to die on the quest. Then again, he didn't need their care; he had been by himself too long to need to be cared for. But if one put human nature over nurture, it sort of, kind of hurt, deep, deep, deep, deep (get the picture) down in a place that once did care. Kath could of killed him any gods given day for nine years; he could of got killed in camp because of a freak training accident.

He could of drowned, he could of gotten attacked by Deimos. Ryan had almost looked forward to seeing Aria in death and he almost felt that he should of; he felt like he deserved it. But now that they were back at Camp, it was almost guaranteed that they were going to live, except Aria. Oh, why hadn't it been him?! She had been right. He hadn't done anything to save her or help her or... he didn't do anything. Ryan had just stood there, within snatching distance. If not that, Aria wouldn't of even of been on deck if he hadn't delayed and gotten the life jackets himself. Because of him, Aria had gone overboard; because of him, Aria was now dead. She wasn't with them, and she never would be.

Avery's voice snapped him back from his whirlwind of thought. He'd have too much time to think and break down in a little while, now he had to take care of Avery. Turning around, he tried to suppress everything again, just like he had back at the land mass, so he could focus. This time, it was harder because he had already started to think about it and even more things had happened. He knew he'd be much worse off later; keeping a building wave waiting was not a good idea because it'd just cause more destruction later; however, right now he had to take care of Avery, period. Just as she had helped and had taken care of him. He owed her that, and so much more. Ryan nodded at Avery's words. If she was anything like him, she would be hating to admit she needed help. Ryan was very very very far from chewing her out on it; for one, she was his quest partner, for another she had become his friend. She had found the one way ticket in, and Ryan wasn't sure if she was ever going to get out.

Yes, she needed to get to the Big House. Avery looked horrible as an understatement. He had to get her out of the water and into the Big House. Like now; but even he knew with his left side out he couldn't get her there. He didn't even know if he would of wanted to try it even with both arms in order; he could of just hurt her more. What he needed was a stretcher or something so they wouldn't just hurt Avery more than she was... if that was possible. Ryan didn't want to leave Avery, it was one of the bottom things on his list, but he had to get help. "I'll be right back," he promised her. Ryan trudged through the shallows and onto land, desperatly looking around for someone. Anyone. Hopefully he wouln't need to go far. It would be better if he could keep her in his eye's sight, but he'd go anywhere nescessary to get her help.

OOC: o.O Sorry about that length
Character Name: Ryan Simons-Son of Ares No One
Mood: Panicked, Upset, Guilty, Grateful, Stubborn, Protective
To: Avery Reynolds-Daughter of Hermes
IC Word Count: 1,172

Legend:
"Ryan Speaking"
Ryan Thinking

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[Azrael Everett]

Azrael was spending his day like any other day, alone and in his hammock. He never went out to do the activities the other demigods did. His little X-men ability was all he needed in battle. It was pointless to use a sword. Besides Azrael could never see himself wielding a sword in the heat of battle. It would be a ridiculous sight. He just used his fists and hands it suited him more. Azrael put his hands behind his head and rocked gently in the hammock. The sounds of a few nearby monsters disturbed his attempt at beauty rest. He lifted a brow and glanced off to his right as if daring any monster watching to come and get him. They usually left him alone because the first couple who had attacked him didn’t live to tell the tale.

After that Azrael was unable to doze off again. His mind began to wander and it went back to his first meeting with Avery Reynolds the daughter of Hermes. She was feisty and blonde and so very much like Katrina that it plagued him. She had entered his mind and corrupted his dreams as of late and to be honest is was getting highly annoying. Yeah he liked her and Azrael couldn’t deny that there were some feelings there inside whenever he thought about Avery. The trouble was Azrael was left to wonder if those feelings were genuine or if they were simply a fabrication created by his memories of Katrina and Avery’s likeness to her. It wasn’t fair and Azrael honestly couldn’t distinguish between the two at the moment. He didn’t want to like Avery because she reminded him of the dead Aphrodite girl he probably loved. Azrael may have flirted with everything in a skirt but he wasn’t that much of an asshole.

Unnerved by that thought, Azrael stood up determined to clear his mind of Avery Reynolds and Katrina Puckett. He sighed deeply and trudged through the forest. Maybe if he were to train with the others he would be able to keep his mind busy. It sounded like it would work but it meant Azrael making contact with other demigods. He almost killed a Hermes girl a while back and that entire cabin tended to avoid him like some kind of deadly disease. They weren’t too far off.

Azrael eventually made his way toward the lake. The sun was freaking hot and a quick dip in the lake seemed like a good way to distract himself. He hummed a few lines of some random song going through his head at that moment. Azrael had no idea what the song was called or who it was by. He had heard it in passing the cabins the other day and ever since it stuck there unwilling to leave. It ticked him off tremendously. He turned into him whistling the tune but it soon died out as Azrael came closer to the lake.

He stopped in his tracks for a moment his eyes narrowing on the two demigods emerging from the water. They were fully clothed and if Azrael wasn’t mistaken one of them looked like Avery. He started to walk again surveying and trying to make sense of what was going on. Azrael broke into a run as the other kid came toward him. It was Avery and the boy was a son of Ares, Ryan. Azrael had heard his name and all that good stuff and knew about the quest he was on. But it wasn’t a joyous occasion to see them back, oh no. Azrael saw how beaten up Ryan was and then he looked back to Avery, she was cradling her wrist. Instant panic washed over Az and he slowed to a stop as he reached Ryan.

“Hey, you okay?” He quickly examined Ryan careful not to touch him. Azrael had forgotten his gloves back in his hammock, go figure. He swallowed and glanced back over Ryan’s shoulder to Avery who was a lot more banged up than Ryan was. “Somebody get some help!” Azrael shouted. There were a group of other half bloods passing not to far away. They hesitated. “Don’t stand there looking stupid, I said go get some freaking help. Go on move it!” They jumped and raced off. Azrael turned back to Ryan his brow furrowed. “Shouldn’t there be three of you?” He regretted saying that the instant it left his mouth. Something major had gone wrong on the quest. Azrael looked back to Avery and the lake to make sure he didn’t miscount, but there was no denying it. Only Ryan and Avery made it back. Azrael didn’t know who the third person had been and for that he felt guilty even if it was none of his business.

Azrael couldn’t take it any longer. He nodded to Ryan and took off toward Avery at a full run. He skidded to a stop wanting to reach out to her but his hands were bare. The drops of water flecked on her face could have been tears but Azrael wasn’t sure after all they had appeared suddenly in the lake. He still had yet to figure out how they were able to accomplish that. The thought of Avery being a kid of Hermes and teleporting didn’t cross his mind. There was obvious concern on his face. Seeing Avery like this made Azrael’s stomach do summersaults. He hated it to be completely honest. Without needing to ask it was apparent that she had a broken wrist. Azrael forced a smile but it turned out more sad than anything else.

“Look at you Blondie, you’re a mess.” He attempted to make a joke but his heart just wasn’t into it.

The longer he stood there it became clear that she was crying. Azrael’s heart dropped. He needed to help. He wanted to help her. Azrael took a deep breath to concentrate; he needed to hold back his power to the best of his ability. There may have been a slight tingling sensation but it wouldn’t cause Avery to die, go into a coma, or pass out. That was always a plus, but he had to keep his mind focused. He slowly stooped down and put her good arm over his shoulder. Still focusing on holding back his power, Azrael attempted to lift Avery into his arms.

“Fight me and die Blondie, not a threat but a fact.” He said with reserved calmness. “Just hold on, you’re gonna be alright.”

WORD COUNT::

[/color]1086[/center]

[Avery Reynolds]

Avery briefly wondered if being in the Underworld was better than this. Hell, she'd probably take Tartarus for a thousand years than suffer this for five more minutes. At least in Tartarus, she'd be a void - a spirit locked away until it barely existed. Here, she was a broken girl. Avery was, as much as she hated to admit it, a girl broken by guilt, grief, pain, and insecurity. She was messed up, and she knew it. And now, she was responsible for the loss of a life. This only made more tears rush to her eyes, and Avery clenched her eyes shut and wished the world away. Absolutely everything hurt, and now she was hurting on the inside too. Everything ached, even her heart. The Avery that had been such a prankster and an easygoing girl was gone, and in its place was a shell filled with absolutely nothing but grief and a broken heart, broken by the realization that she was absolutely nothing.

She didn't even respond when Ryan told her that he was going to go get help. It hardly even registered in her head. Did that mean she was going delirious? No, delirious mean that she'd be seeing and hearing things. But that about not hearing or seeing things? What did that mean? Did that mean she was dying? Even though Avery wondered if death was better, that didn't mean she wanted to die. She was selfish like that, in a sense. She was afraid of death. She didn't want to die. Not right now, not when she was vulnerable and in a place where she could be safe. No, Avery wanted to die in battle. This wasn't battle. If she'd wanted to die in battle, she should have died fighting the empousa. But she hadn't. She had to stay alive now. Didn't she?

Avery lay there in the water, crumpled like she was already dead. She clutched her wrist to her like a lifeline, keeping steady pressure on the broken bone. It hurt like hell, and she honestly wasn't sure what she was supposed to do for a broken wrist. Her head hurt like nothing too, but unless someone looked very closely they wouldn't be able to tell how banged up her head was. The blood from that injury had made its way into her hair, and being soaked in this water was starting to wash some of it away. But since there was practically smudges of blood all over her, it wasn't so noticeable that she practically had the back of her head smashed in. She had bruises on what felt like every part of her body, and scratches and scrapes absolutely everywhere.

Suddenly, a voice rang through all of Avery's thoughts, all of her pain. A voice that, on the island, she thought that she would never hear again. A voice that brought comfort and more pain at the same time. There was only one person that voice could belong to, and sure enough his face appeared in her vision. Azrael. Just his name brought an onslaught of emotion that Avery definitely wasn't ready for in this state. She heard something that sounded like it was a joke about her appearance, and Avery just glanced at him from the corner of her eye and feebly tried to smile. She released her wrist and used her one good hand to weakly flip him off before before gasping as the pain erupted in her wrist and she had to grasp it as tightly as possible again. Tears rolled down her cheeks like little rivers, and she felt utterly weak and vulnerable, knowing that Az was here to witness everything.

Suddenly he was picking her up, and draping her good arm over his shoulder. Avery groaned and cradled her wrist up against her chest, feeling as if she was going to break down into a new stream of crying fits. Something felt wrong with his touch, like there was a faint tingling, tickling feeling on her back where he was holding her with his bare hands. And yet, despite that, there was also something that felt amazing, being held in Azrael's arms. Or maybe it was just being held in general. It was very rare that Avery needed to be held, and usually when she needed it, there was nobody there to do it, nobody who wanted to or would, anyway. And right now, all Avery needed was to held. Even if she felt like she was about to fall apart any second.

Just the thought of everything that had happened to her to make her feel like this made Avery let out a little choking sob. Even Azrael's comment about holding on wasn't enough to keep her from practically breaking down. "I'm s-so sorry," she managed to get out. "I don't... You shouldn't... I c-can't, I..." Honestly, Avery didn't even know what she was trying to say. All she knew was that she was falling apart. The loose strings that her held her together were coming undone rather quickly, and the pain was starting to get to her. And the faint tingling feeling she had from Az's hands was only making her more uncomfortable. "It hurts," she finally managed to whimper, clenching her eyes shut. It was starting to get to the point where she was losing her filter. Her mind was starting to go, and her body was just too tired to fight it. "And it's all my fault. Everything's my f-fault." More tears came at this.

Gods, when did the pain ever stop? Would it ever stop?

[Ryan Simons]

Fading, falling, lost in forever
Will I find a way to keep it together?
Am I strong enough to last through the weather in the hurricane of my life?
Can it be a conscious decision?
That I look for ways to alter my vision?
Am I speeding towards another collision in the alleyways of my life?

~Pain Redefined, Disturbed[/size][/font][/right]

Ryan felt really dizzy, way out of it and in a Hades full of pain. It could of been blood loss, it could of been that he was just going crazy, it could of been all his guilt and grief; it was probably a lot of things combined. He felt a certain sort of numbness starting in his head, forming an empty shell as he continued to try and suppress everything; a numbness that was going to spread and then burst all over the place and crash like a wave if he didn't let it out soon. He felt like it was going to destroy him... and he actually wouldn't of minded. His body was starting to work against him internally; it felt like a black hole of death was forming inside him, ready to suck him in from the inside out. It was taking every single millimeter of any sort of self control that he possessed not to just break down and loose his mind completely. The only thing that kept him from doing so was Avery, but that would probably change when they got help and she was safe in the Big House.

As he stumbled blindly out of the lake, his blue-grey eyes went flying every which way, but his head didn't register anything. Ryan just saw a blur and it was starting to make him feel sick. He was still in shock that they were indeed back at Camp; it was amazing and awful at the same time. Amazing because Avery had done it, she was honestly the best. Awful because she was hurt and Aria was... he shut his stream of thoughts off. He needed a good slap or something, but he was pretty sure that it would just make things worse, if that was even possible. Ryan perfectly knew that anyone in Camp would be happy to give it to him though.

The boy didn't even notice that the bandage that Avery had tied around his arm was now half torn off; that was probably from what happened on the beach and agitating it in the lake He didn't register that his arm was starting to bleed out and that it was shaking violently. The only thought in his mind was to get Avery help. She was worser off than him; he had to forget about his suffering, no one cared, anyway. He owed her that much and more. He needed to stay sane and get her help. There's always someone out there who has it worse than you do, Kath's voice growled in his head. That person right now, would be Avery. Underneath trying to find someone that would help, a subconscious building up of numbness, guilt, grief, shock and a hundred other different things started.

Help... he needed someone to help her... He felt totally useless. That's just what he was; it had to take four people and a god to reinforce it, but it was true none the less. He was just a total waste of a person, a complete lost cause; he couldn't do anything right, no one loved him and no one cared about him and he guessed that he had to come to terms with it one time or another. He couldn't save or help anyone for his life. As that thought rose, contrary to him trying to suppress, they must of collided somewhere along the way. Ryan felt stars flash infront of his eyes and he felt himself sway dangerously. Almost like a second nature, he went to widen his stance to try to maintain balance, but he ended up almost toppling over onto his left side. Ryan was failing... again.

He was almost startled when he saw a man infront of him. Ryan's guard wasn't up at all and he was almost unaware of everything. He wouldn't of even cared and probably wouldn't even notice if anything or anyone went to attack him. He would of probably of just stood there and leave himself in the mercy of his ADHD. His mind was just being pulled and tugged... everything just hurt intensely and he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep it up. It like there was a big gapping hole of emptiness, guilt and hurt. It had taken his quest to crash in on the reality that his apparent mortal brother was now dead too. His fault... again. Everything was. All his mental pain was starting to give into physical. Oh my gods we're back... I shouldn't be back... I shouldn't be here... In all reality, he thought he should of been lying at the bottom of the ocean, if not already in his grave near Kath's house. That is, if she would even bother to make him one.

The man infront of his opened his mouth and asked a question. To Ryan's ears it was sort of slow and slurred and his mind took a few seconds to piece together what the boy had actually asked; by that time, the boy had shouted something to another group of campers that were passing by. The boy shouted something that Ryan didn't even attempt to try and piece to together. It was an effort to just try and figure out the first question he had been asked. Once he finally understood what had been asked, Ryan opened his mouth, almost hesitantly. "I-I'm fine," Ryan muttered automatically; his voice sounded dead and almost robotic. Of course, like every other time he had said it, he was lying, but his brain wasn't consciously registering it this time. "Forget about me... help her!" Ryan said, looking towards the lake and finally registering that it was a person infront of him. He remembered the man opening his mouth again to ask something else; nothing but slurred words again. Three of us...? By that time the man had left him and had gone over to Avery, good thing too. She needed to get safe... needed to get help.

His mind finally snapped the other man's question together. Supposed to be three of us. Avery was okay; someone that wouldn't mess her life up was with her. One. Three of us. Ryan was alive and standing; physically there, but not exactly mentally. Two. Three of us. Aria was... at the bottom of the ocean. Ryan's stomach sank and he turned around automatically, subconsciously thinking that he was going to see Aria in the lake too. He didn't see her; all he saw was the man lifting Avery up. He saw her lips start moving, but Ryan couldn't hear anything, much less interpret it. He felt something reaching a climax inside of him before realizing it was the forever building wave. The wave that had started as a little ripple when he was eight. It had taken enough and couldn't grow any more.

Finally, as he knew it would, it broke inside of him. Everything rushed out and bursted; his filter and mask that he had used for so long splintered. Ryan's mind and body were being torn in all different directions at once. Keeping eight years bottled up and then having the keg ignite and explode was excruciating: physically, emotionally and mentally. The numbness and shock protecting him disintegrated out of his body, making the pain increase by a hundred. Half of him knew he deserved it, the other half begged for it to be over. The world swirled around him as his eyes went out of focus and blurry. To add to the list of things that he had never done before now: he gave up... with everything. His face felt hot and tears stared to go down his face as the "never cry infront of Camp" promise he had made shattered.

OOC: Sorry about the wait and length!
Character Name: Ryan Simons-Son of Ares No One aka Little Buddy, Hot Head
Mood: Upset, Guilty, Depressed
To: Avery "Ave" Reynolds-Daughter of Hermes aka Blondie
Azrael "Az" Everett-Son of Thanatos
IC Word Count: 1,324

Legend:
"Ryan Speaking"
Ryan Thinking

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[Azrael Everett]

Azrael could tell that him making direct contact with her was bothering her even more. He couldn’t break his concentration though. With a solemn and focused expression he trudged out of the water and across the shore. And when she muttered “it hurts” Azrael damn near lost it then and there. His jaw quivered but he continued forward. There was no way he could carry her all the way to the Big House, not from the lake and not without his gloves. Once they were far enough from the water Azrael careful eased Avery back to the ground pulling his touch away from her. He sighed and relaxed. Azrael looked over Avery with sorrow. He didn’t like seeing people hurt and in pain especially this girl.

“Whats you’re fault?” He asked softly wanting to push the hair from her face but he held back. Azrael took his jacket off and balled it up placing it under Avery’s head being careful again as to not kill her via touch. Azrael glanced back up and over to Ryan the son of Ares and then it all clicked into place. There were three who left on this quest. There were always three. But only two came back and Avery muttered something being her fault. The third member had died. Azrael felt his heart sink. He figured that the third was gone but hearing Avery blame herself made the entire situation fall into place. “It’s not your fault Blondie. You’re going to be fine, I promise that.” Azrael chanced it, he drew in a deep breath and pushed Avery’s hair out of the way quickly withdrawing his hand. “You’re stronger than this I know you are, just hold on.”

Azrael stood up and approached Ryan, “Ares kid. What the hell happened out there?” Azrael didn’t know the details of the prophecy the kid was given so there was no way of knowing if the quest had been successful or not. Then again coming back one half-blood short didn’t seem like a success. The kid looked a wreck. He wasn’t as beaten up as Avery was but emotionally Azrael could see this kid was torn apart. In the state he was in, Ryan wouldn’t be much help so Azrael had to play the adult and bring the kid back to Earth. “Hey, you can cry about it later we got to Avery to the Big House she’s...not looking good.” It hurt for Azrael to admit that. He wished that he could help more but carrying Avery all the way to the Big House would be out of the question.

WORD COUNT::

[/color]~434[/center]

[Avery Reynolds]

Avery was beyond her limits now, with the pain continuing to increase as the adrenaline finally began to filter out of her system bit by bit. Aching bruises, stinging cuts, on top of the ringing and pounding in her head and the sharp twinge of broken bone in her wrist. She wasn't entirely sure how long she'd be able to keep herself awake, but Avery knew very well that if she fell asleep now, she might never wake up if not given the proper care first. Besides, Avery determinedly kept herself awake. It didn't look like it form the outside, well, actually it did, but Avery was fighting off the darkness that was sleep and possibly death away from her mind as hard as she could. People might have been able to argue that hardest thing she'd fought was back on that island, with the empousa and the two giants, but no. No, the greatest fight Avery Reynolds had ever fought was going on inside her own head, for the power to stay awake and alive.

It was more out of fear than anything else. After all, Deimos had told her himself. Nobody really wanted her around. What was she anyway, but a pest and an annoyance to everyone around her? Hell, the only one who'd ever really taken care of her and really cared about her was her little buddy, Ryan. Besides, Az was just probably here because he felt bad, not because he actually cared. Like he'd said, she looked like crap. She was probably a pitiful sight to see. That's why he was here. Luke was probably off chasing Annabeth like a lost puppy, no worry in his head whatsoever about the sister who cared about him more than anything in the world. They were all the same. They were all just like her mother. They'd throw her out in the cold the first chance they'd get, just like she had.

It was a painful thought, and for a split second Avery almost gave up her fight against the darkness. That one second of hesitation was enough to give her exhaustion enough power to keep up the fight. Avery hardly noticed when Az put her down, but she was consciously there enough to notice that he'd put his jacket underneath her head. Memories of landing on the island, laying down in that little hole with Ryan, hitting her head... Avery groaned at the remembrance of all that. "You... you don't have to be around just to do some charity work," she managed to grumble, shifting her weight around her back a little. The pain in her head intensified at putting the least bit of pressure on it by laying back on Az's jacket, and Avery was hyperaware that she was probably getting her blood on it. "Everything's my fault. The boat, the crash, everything. What didn't you get?" she growled, feeling the tears threatening to spill over again. She clenched her eyes shut and clutched at her broken wrist again.

For some reason, Az was telling her that she was strong. Avery huffed at that in disbelief. Strong? Strong was a word one used to describe a person who wasn't falling apart. Someone who wasn't her. Strong was used to describe the chick who always came out on top, maybe with a few scratches but she was okay. That definitely was not Avery. She wasn't strong. She was weak. Weaker than anyone she'd ever known. "I'm trying," was all she could say in response to him. She was trying to hold on, couldn't he see that? But, of course, she almost came undone when she felt him push a piece of her hair back. Once again, she felt that wrongness, but something about it felt so right coming from him. No, no she was just being delirious. It was easy to play it off onto that. But nevertheless, she felt herself shifting towards the movement without her mind's permission, like she was seeking more comfort, like a child who'd just had a nightmare. "Someone please make it stop," she murmured pitifully, her filter once again failing to keep words from coming out of her mouth. "I can't... I can't take this."

[Ryan Simons]

Ryan's left arm was pretty much drenched in his own blood and shaking like Hades, just as it had been so many other times when he was younger. While different thoughts collided around his head, it felt like any remaining color was draining out of his face. This is all my fault, I shouldn't be here. Everything's my fault, I should be at the bottom of the ocean... The ocean. Aria. They had met there and he had practically killed her there. The images and sounds from the last couple of hours of his life were raging around his mind like wild fire. One thought just ignited another until he thought his head would explode. He grimaced, wishing that his body would numb everything again. He felt himself half sway on the spot; his vision was blurry, but he didn't even bother to wipe away the tears, there was no point now. Ryan felt completely vulnerable and weak. He was a total waste of demigod skin. A complete failure of a demigod, leader and friend.

The older demigod was infront of him again. Now that he sort of thought about it, the man infront of him was one that Ryan rarely saw around Camp grounds. Ryan wasn't sure if he could talk without completely breaking down, but a slight tug of his remaining stubbornness told him to try. It took him a couple of seconds to actually comprehend what was coming out of the other male's mouth. "I-I'm not his kid," Ryan said on default, his voice half cracking. What happened out there...? Too much for a few hours. "N-nothing..." his voice broke and Ryan bit his tongue, trying to get get himself under control; he knew if he altogether spiraled out and down now, there was no return. "N...Nothing g-good..." Ryan's attempt to pull himself together had been a fail, just like his entire life. Aria was gone because of him. He had put Avery in danger and that had given her a concussion. "I k-killed her...." There went his speech filter. "Ev-everything's all m-my fa-fault..." After all the years of training, he couldn't help Aria. He couldn't help Avery. He couldn't help anyone.

Avery. The other demigod spoke her name. Ryan only had time to comprehend the name. The rest came slower. She was probably the only reason that he was here right now. Besides keeping his unspoken and stubborn promise of loyalty to Avery, he didn't see any reason for his existence. Once they were in the Big House he was going to see to it, personally, that she would get better and kick monster butt. There was no way that he was leaving her now; he had let her down all through the quest. There was no way that he was letting it happen again, especially now that they were back at Camp. If he lost her now, Ryan would honestly have no idea what he'd do with himself. He had admitted something to a mirage that he would never tell a real person: Ryan cared about Avery, a lot. From their weird sort of friendship, to going on a quest, Ryan finally came around to realizing that he liked and trusted her. The same went for Aria. It had killed a part of him to go on the island shore without her.

The rest of the man's comment finally got comprehended in his overloaded mind. He had something about Avery not looking good and that Ryan could cry about it later. The fifteen year old tried to force himself back to Camp. The other boy was right, he had to stop and put himself second. Avery had to come first, she had it worse then him. "O...Okay..." he agreed, half forcing himself to stop thinking and crying. It seemed that the older demigod carrying her was out of the question. Why? Ryan wasn't sure, but his head wasn't concentrating enough to think that weird. As much as he wanted to try to help, Ryan knew couldn't and that he'd just make it worse, he always did. His left arm was shot, plus he'd just end up hurting her more. He was about to go running to the Big House himself when a couple of the campers started to hurriedly approach with a stretcher. They had evidently obeyed the older demigod's order. The kids, probably from the Apollo Cabin, which made him feel sick, set the gurney beside Avery. "S-She's got a concussion and a broken wrist," Ryan spoke up, an edge of protectiveness outlining his voice.

OOC: o.O Sorry for the wait
This one's not as long... mostly because I chopped some stuff out
Tell me if you want me to change ANYTHING!
Character Name: Ryan Simons-Son of Ares No One aka Little Buddy, Hot Head
Mood: Upset, Guilty, Protective
To: Avery "Ave" Reynolds-Daughter of Hermes aka Blondie
Azrael "Az" Everett-Son of Thanatos
IC Word Count: 793

Legend:
"Ryan Speaking"
Ryan Thinking

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[Azrael Everett]

Azrael scoffed at Avery as she said what he was doing was charity work. It kind of hurt him for her to refer to his help as such. He tried not to let that hurt show on his face, but it was difficult. Azrael was already troubled by the pain and condition that Avery was in. Keeping any emotion but concern out of his eyes was near impossible. He starred at her as she continually blamed herself for whatever happened to the third demigod kid. He gave a heavy sigh unable to listen to Avery suffer. It was bad enough he had to witness her in this pain he didn’t want to hear the guilt.

He wasn’t going to get answers from Avery at least he didn’t want to try to. The other kid had to be of some help other than the obvious, ‘Its my fault’. It was all the two of them could say. They were suffering survivors guilt something two teenagers—or anyone for that matter—should have to deal with. He rolled his eyes at the kid as he denied being a son of Ares. Whatever, it didn’t exactly matter at that moment. The boy was falling apart on him. Az’s brow furrowed and he grabbed Ryan by the shirt ever so careful not to make contact with his skin. “Look kid, both of you need to stop it right now. I get it; one of you didn’t come back. Trust me, I know what it’s like to blame yourself for the death of another but you can’t let it rule your life. Now, you didn’t mean for any of it to happen whatever happened okay? Right now you need to go be looked at too. I’m a son of Thanatos and so help me Gods I will knock your ass out if you don’t go kid. You’re not a killer, what happened was an accident and its terrible. I’m gonna let go of you now, alright.”

Azrael finally released the Ares kid and stood back. He sighed and glanced back over at Avery as the other’s went to her side to help her to the Big House. He may not have been the one to carry her there, but Azrael sure as hell would be the one to follow. No matter what Blondie had to say Azrael wasn’t going to leave her side. He looked back to the boy, “I’m older than you and it gives me seniority, plus having a touch that could kill doesn’t hurt my odds in a fight against you either. Unless you have a death wish, go let the Apollo kids have a look at you. And when you feel like it, I’d like to know exactly what the Hades happened out there. Alright?” He shook his head and walked back over to the Apollo kids and Avery. He smiled down at her, or tried to. It was a smile that read he was here for her and would be. Azrael reached his hand out to Avery but he withdrew it momentarily forgetting that he was restricted by touch. If there was ever a time he didn’t want to be a son of Thanatos, this was it.

WORD COUNT::

[/color]535[/center]