Not The Light We Need
Pandora's heart raced as she slowly turned to face her uncle, a sudden sea breeze catches their attention and Poseidon materialized before their eyes. Poseidon storms in front of his daughter as he glares harshly at his brother, "Not here and not now" Poseidon seethed lowly. Pandora pulled Naomi into her side while protectively positioning herself in front of her friend. Zeus laughed almost bitterly but was cut off before he could even open his mouth, "she has nothing to do with any of this and we WILL leave her out of this matter" Poseidon demanded as he took a step closer to Zeus. Pandora slightly looked around as she noticed the trees had stopped rustling in the breeze almost like time had slowed, she narrowed her eyes before looking back to her father and uncle.
"This is forbidden and you know it! The prophecy begins with her!" Zeus said as he made a gesture to Pandora making his brother shake his head.
"Walk away and we can continue this in the woods if it means so much she be present" Poseidon snapped.
Zeus's lip curled in distaste but reluctantly nodded, without a second to spare the two had disappeared and the breeze returned and it wasn't quite anymore as everything began moving again. Pandora swiftly turned around to check on Naomi only to see her on the ground with her eyes shut, Pandora gasped lightly before she dropped to her knees and started to check over Naomi when campers started to exit their cabins. People from the other team gasped at the scene as they gathered around them, "Don't just stand there! I need help!" Pandora cried but everyone just kept watching her.
"How do we know you didn't do this to her?" Someone from the other team shouted as Pandora grew more panicked, finally Lee and Dixie managed to push their way through the crowd.
Lee sprung into action as Dixie pulled Pandora away from Naomi as more Apollo kids pushed their way through the crowd with medical supplies, the other team started throwing accusations about Pandora doing this while people from her team started to push them away. The Ares kids started shouting back at the other team while Lee and a few others tried to wake Naomi up, "this is my fault" Pandora whispered with watery eyes.
"Hey, hey don't say that" Dixie whispered softly as she stroked the younger girls hair.
Naomi suddenly stirred awake as she let her eyes flutter open, she looked around in a dazed state but quickly started looking for one certain person. When her eyes landed on Pandora's she sprung to her feet and wobbled slightly as she tried to regain her composure enough to sign something, "are they gone?" She asked shakily.
Pandora nodded slightly as Dixie looked between the two in confusion, "who's they?" Dixie asked softly as everyone from their team started to usher the other team away.
The other team glared at Pandora as they walked by until Charlie was only left, he slowly approached them with a chest plate in hand, "this is just for today until we can get your measurements tomorrow— it—it should fit but if it doesn't it's only for today so—" Charlie said bashfully as one of his hands awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. Lee went forward and thanked him softly as he took the chest piece and wished the younger boy luck, Charlie smiled before he jogged off to catch up with his team.
Lee smiled as he continued to wave to the boy before abruptly turning to Pandora, "what happened?" He asked softly, surprising almost everyone with how tender he was acting with the girl. Pandora looked to the ground as a few tears fell, Lee motioned for the rest of the team to leave saying they would be right behind them as he knelt down in front of the girl. "Hey you're not in trouble, I just need to know what happened okay?" Lee said softly as he wiped some of the fallen tears before he gingerly took both of her hands into his.
Pandora looked to Naomi who shook her head quickly, Pandora took a sharp breath as she looked towards Lee. He wasn't going to believe her no matter what she said and she didn't want him to be collateral damage, "th-there was this b-blinding light and I tried to run away from it but I ran into Naomi and— and I'm so sorry" Pandora cried softly.
To Dixie's surprise Lee dropped the chest plate and pulled the girl into his arms and held her, "I know that wasn't the whole truth and I see your scared but whatever your scared of you don't have to face alone" Lee muttered softly as he tenderly cradled the back of her head only making her cry harder. Lee smiled sadly before he pulled back to he could see her face, "tell you what little wave, I'll give you the time you need and you come to me when you feel ready" he said softly as he wiped her tears from her cheeks. He lightly pressed his forehead to hers making her laugh through her tears, "that a deal little wave?" He asked with a goofy smile making her nod slightly he pulled away. He picked up the chest plate and had her slip it on before he adjusted it so it would fit as he picked up a spare blue helmet and placed it on her head, "you ready to see what camp truly has to offer?" Lee said with a smirk. Pandora nodded excitedly as they started to walk towards their team that was down the path waiting for them, Pandora felt something watching her so she let her eyes scan the trees only to catch Zeus's heated stare. She glared at him and slowly rose her arms before sticking up her middle fingers, he looked genuinely shocked before rage over took his features. She quickly turned to run to meet her team after they called for her to join them, Poseidon pulled his brother back harshly making Zeus walk away in frustration. Poseidon glared at his brother as he walked deeper into the woods, he quickly turned back to see his daughter and watched as Lee crouched down and pulled her onto his back for a piggyback ride. He couldn't help the smile that made its way onto his face as he watched his daughter smile for the first time since she was 3, he smiled as everyone talked to her and made her feel included. He just wanted to watch her smile all day, everyday if he could but reality set back in and he tore his gaze away from her and trekked further into the woods to find his brother.
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As everyone gathered at the dining pavilion Chiron stood before the masses with a wide smile on his face, "Now you all the rules by now, yet we always have someone breaking so I need to reiterate them!" Chiron bellowed as he took a deep breath to prepare himself. Lee and Dixie turned around to face Pandora and Naomi and started to mimic Chiron, "The Zephyros Creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is considered "fair game." All magic items are allowed. The flags must be prominently displayed and can have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. Guards aren't allowed to stand within ten yards of the flag. And especially killing or maiming is NOT allowed. Is that clear? Alright now that has been settled, the red team will take to The Northern Woods while the blue team will take to The Southern Woods. When you cross the The Zephyros Creek back into your territory you with the other teams flag your team wins" Chiron shouted as everyone started to bounce on the balls of his feet in anticipation, "now that the rules have been addressed, Captains! Take your teams to your flag and when the horn sounds the game will begin! May the best team win!" Chiron shouted one last time before the captains started to direct their teams into the woods.
Pandora moved to follow her team but was pulled back by a Hephaestus girl and an Aphrodite boy, "your gonna pay for what you did" the boy said as they held smug looks as the girl kicked Pandora square in her back effortlessly knocking her to the ground.
She didn't make a sound as her chin collided with the gravel beneath her, the girl snarled slightly as Pandora began pushing herself up. The boy smirked before he pulled back his leg and quickly kicked her in the ribs, Pandora grunted as she fell onto her other side. The two started laughing and Pandora quickly turned over so she was facing them, she felt the air hit her scraped chin and glared up at the two older kids. They looked to be about 17 almost 18 years old, the boy pulled her up by the collar of her shirt and smugly smirked at her as the girl pulled out her dagger and brought it along her side. Pandora glared at her before focusing back on the boy as her eyes shifted to the blueish green, her lips trembled as her mind started to go dark like a film was shutting out her brains logic like when the Minotaur attacked but she forced herself to break eye contact and look over his shoulder only to see Lee and the head of Ares cabin rushing towards them. She felt herself smile but felt a burning pain in her side as the councilor from Ares cabin rammed into the girl who had her, her adrenaline started pumping as she hit the boys floating rib before hitting him where the sun doesn't shine. Lee pulled him back and punched him in the face and once the boy was on the ground Lee pounced onto him as different types of profanities spilled from his lips as he threw his fists into the boys face.
the Ares councilor pulled the girls dagger from the girls hands as she pushed her into a tree nearest to them and held her knife at her throat "WHERE DO YOU GET OFF ON HURTING A KID?!" the Ares councilor yelled as they heard hoofs storming towards them.
"STOP!" Chirons voice boomed as he pulled Lee off the boy, the Ares cabin councilor backed away from the girl before she dropped the girls dagger into the gravel and stepping back towards Pandora.
She dropped down one knee as she examined Pandora's face when Charlie and the councilor of Aphrodite cabin came barreling towards them as Chiron released Lee, "KEEP YOUR FUCKIN CAMPERS IN CHECK!" Lee spat as he pointed at Charlie and the Aphrodite councilor with rage behind his eyes.
Charlie looked around the scene in confusion, "what happened and why is he on the ground??" Charlie questioned before his eyes caught a glance of Lee's bloodied knuckles.
Lee pointed to Chiron, "LOOK- look what they did to her! She's done nothing wrong and they felt the need to attack her! She doesn't have anyone looking out for her and I'll be damned if they think it's open season on this LITTLE GIRL! Just because of who her father is" Lee spat as he shook his head in disbelief, "we're Half-Bloods! We are ment to be better than our parents! Not fighting ourselves! So keep your campers in check or next time whoever harms her will have a mouth full of their own teeth" Lee declared before he turned on his heels.
As he stormed off the Ares cabin councilor laughed as she grabbed Pandora's hand and pulled her to catch up with Lee, "the horn will be blown in a few minutes!" Chiron called after them.
Lee threw the man a thumbs up but didn't turn around as they walked into the woods, Ares cabin councilor kept pace with Pandora as the girl took off her ring. She tossed it up and watched it transform into her sword, the Ares councilor lighting nudged her making the girl look up to her. "My name is Hadleigh Hunter, daughter of Ares" she said with a proud smile making the girl smile back at her.
"Pandora Nightgood, daughter of Poseidon" Pandora said with a less enthusiastic smile.
Hadleigh chuckle lightly as she placed her hand on Pandora's shoulder, "you'll get use to your father not being in your life, it won't be easy but you'll have us by your side" Hadleigh said as she pulled her swords off her back with a sly smirk. They walked across the creek into the Northern Woods, keeping their eyes peeled for any monsters.
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Once they finally reached their team they went over the battle plan again, once everyone was told where they were going and what their job was everyone split off into three groups. The A group was going to attack the other team on their turf, the B team was in charge of retrieving the other team's flag while the C team was to protect the flag. Everyone on C team was put into pares, Naomi refused to sit out at the infirmary and specifically asked to be pared with Pandora while Dixie was on A team and they needed someone with experience to help Pandora. Once everyone had disbursed to their positions Pandora took a moment to catch her breath, but that moment was ruined when the rustling of the leaves stoped once more. She watched some birds over head slow to the point they were barely moving, she turned in the direction of a man laughing. Naomi squeezed Pandoras hand to reassure her she wasn't alone when Zeus and Poseidon came out towards the two, Naomi glared harshly at Zeus as he wiped his eyes from laughing so hard. Poseidon glared at his brother as he rammed his elbow into his side, "shut up would you" the man snapped but fell short when he saw the scrape on her chin and stormed forward, "what the hell happened?!" Poseidon demanded as he lifted her head to inspect the scrape.
Pandora looked away from him as she pushed his hands away from her face, "nothing I can't handle" she spat before looking to her uncle, "what was so important you came all this way?" Pandora asked.
Zeus nodded, "I like her already, she hates you and wants nothing to do with you" he said with a humorous laugh but slowly calmed himself down, "the matter of the fact is you were never ment to be born" Zeus said matter of factly.
Pandora felt a pang in her heart and looked away from the men, "she had nothing to do with my choices" he spat as he turned to look back at his brother.
"No but she is the product of your so called choices so now it does include her. She has no control over herself and is too powerful for her own good, you saw what almost happened to that boy!" Zeus yelled at Poseidon, taking a step closer to him as he yelled.
Poseidon shoved him away before shoving his finger in Zeus's face, "SHE HAS SELF CONTROL! SHE HAD EVERY RIGHT TO KILL HIM BUT SHE DIDNT! And let's not forget you're not so innocent either! How many kids have you had behind your wife's back?!" He snapped back with a scowl. "My daughter never asked to be my daughter, but you know what? She's one hell of a better person then you and your just scared like you have been since you usurped our parents from their throne! And so what if her fate has been decided?! It's none of your fucking business what she does until the time is right" Poseidon ranted as he got in Zeus's face.
Zeus wiped the spit off of his face with his handkerchief before he turned to look at Pandora who was signing everything her father had just said to Naomi, his face fell slightly as this was nothing like the monstrous little girl the oracles had depicted her to be. When Pandora realized Zeus hadn't retaliated yet so she looked up and caught his gaze, she looked like every other child, innocent and pure but he knew what she was destined for if led astray. He sighed out as he maneuvered around his brother and towards his daughter, Naomi pulled Pandora closer to her as they watched Zeus closely. Zeus looked back to Poseidon, "if you wish to see her live you will have no more contact with her because as far as you are concerned she doesn't exist, she will be one of the gods one day and you will have no interference with MY plan. Is that understood?" Zeus demanded as Poseidon's eyes held regret but kept his mouth closed.
Pandora slowly saw black dots consuming her vision but she pushed past her father with a glare, "you don't get to dictate my life! I do! And what I want to do is live my life the way my mother intended me to! You are no- no one to me and I-I'll do what's necessary—" Pandora's words slurred making Zeus and Poseidon pull confused faces as they watched her sway slightly.
She tried to stabilize herself on a nearby tree as Naomi rushed over to her and signed something unintelligible before grabbing Pandora's arm and rushing her back toward where the rest of the team was supposed to be. Naomi tried to yell out for her teammates but nothing came out, she pulled Pandora with her but they quickly came to a stop when a group from the red team came charging towards them. Naomi tired to motion for them to stop but the Aphrodite boy from earlier was leading the charge, he looked pissed off and disheveled with his beaten face but that wasn't going to stop him from exacting his revenge. Suddenly the A team and the B team crossed the border with the red teams flag while the rest of the red team followed the blue team as they tried to retrieve their flag, the groups suddenly clashed with red fighting blue when the horn blew signaling the end of the game. Everyone backed away from each other only to realize two people stayed connected, Naomi let out a blood curdling scream as the boy pulled his sword from Pandora's abdomen with a proud smirk. The red team stared at the boy completely gobsmacked at his actions as Chiron and Lee yelled out in anguish before racing towards her, it was like everything was moving in slow motion again as Pandora's hand ghosted over her abdomen. She slowly fell to her knees as Naomi let go of her arm as Dixie ran up behind the two with Hadleigh following quickly behind, Dixie grabbed onto Naomi as Hadleigh laid Pandora back on her knees. Chiron yelled some incoherent commands as campers moved to restrain the boy, Hadleigh yelled some orders as she applied pressure to the wound on the girl's abdomen and watched as Pandora's blood stained her hands as Pandora softly gasped for air. Poseidon and Zeus watched from a distance with distressed looks and just as Zeus was about to step in they noticed the grass around Pandora starts to die and turn brown as the water started to soak her clothes, Zeus scowled towards his brother but frowned when he saw his brother not moving and looking just as confused he did before he looked to accuse him. Pandora's eyes rolled to the back of her head for a moment before they rolled back to normal but with her blueish green eyes, she gasped softly as she emitted a soft glow of blue from her abdomen and her side. The blue glow dimmed until it was completely gone, Hadleigh slowly lifted her hands once she saw her bleeding had stopped and had in fact started to return into her body. Hadleigh pulled the girls chest piece off her as Lee lifts up her shirt enough to reveal her side and abdomen, the bleeding had stopped but the wounds were still open.
"We need to get her back to the Big House so she can be treated and bring the boy, we will discuss what to do with the two that started this" Chiron snapped before he motioned for everyone to follow him back to camp.
Rudy Pankow
As
Lee Fletcher
Odeya Rush
As
Hadleigh Hunter