Laoise could remember playing hide and seek back at her mother's home as though it was yesterday. She remembered how easy it was to find her younger half siblings — how they'd hide over and over in the exact same spots, and always find herself feeling victorious, despite not having actually accomplished much. She remembered the rush she felt whenever her hiding spot was looked over, how good she was at sliding into nooks and crannies and staying there for ages, until her opponents would give up and demand she come out.
Fun didn't begin to describe it.
But hide and seek was quite different at Camp Jupiter. This time in the War Games, weapons were allowed. It wasn't just hide and seek, it was hide and capture, involving knives and swords and anything else one could easily wield. The objective was simple; the purple team had to catch all of the white team within three hours, and bring them to their fortress. The white team had to remain hidden, and if found, run. Not let themselves get caught.
Laoise was good at hiding, but the opposite team was equally as good at seeking.
She just had to be fast, if they caught her in the tree she'd shimmied herself up. Not that they'd be able to find her — the leaves concealed her fairly well, she figured.
Not only that, but it gave her a good view of everything that went on below her, all the demigods and legacies rushing by her, searching for her and other members of her team. Every time someone passed the tree she'd found herself atop, she couldn't help but laugh to herself, finding deep amusement in their plight. As long as one person on team white remained uncaught, they'd win, and there was no way in hell anyone would be finding her.
An hour had already went by, filled with anxious anticipation. Her heart raced, pounding in her chest as she peered down at the people below her. Reyna was among them, on team purple, eyes scanning the perimeter. Eventually, her gaze settled on something, and she took off running towards them, leaving Laoise alone once again.
Without anything else to do, she pulled out her own weapon — a blade, small enough to fit into the pocket of her jeans, and eyed her reflection. While the metal caused her face to be warped, she still found herself smiling once again as she moved it into various angles.
Laoise was the kind of girl who was pretty, and knew it. That came with the territory, being a child of Cupid. Sure, the children of Venus were drop dead gorgeous, but that was nothing compared to the ethereal aura Cupid's offspring harbored. It was the kind of beauty that had everyone groveling at her feet.
Everyone except the boy who had just shot an arrow at her.
"Fuck!" Laoise swore loudly, nearly losing her grip on the tree and slipping down the ground, twenty, maybe thirty feet below. A fall like that would likely break her neck.
Head spinning, her eyes narrowed at the figure below her, as he aimed another arrow at her. While killing wasn't technically allowed in the War Games, accidental deaths were common enough that if Octavian Zoticus were to shoot an arrow through her heart, no one would bat an eye. Though perhaps if they knew it was her arch rival that had done the killing, Reyna may look into it more.
"Don't you dare shoot that arrow, Zoticus!" Laoise shouted down at him, clutching onto the tree with all her might.
"A child of Cupid, telling me not to shoot an arrow," Octavian responded with a smirk, that managed to be visible even from their distance. "That's ironic."
"If you shoot me, I'll come down there and slit your throat."
"I'd like to see you try," he tilted his head to the side as his arrow slid out from his bow, hitting the tree only an inch above her head. "Consider that a warning shot. Come on down, Campbell, if you want to keep your brains inside your head. Not that you have many."
She scowled at him, bearing her teeth. "You wish."
"Then you leave me no choice," aiming his arrow again, she dodged just in time to avoid a shot in the leg. "Come on, Campbell, just climb down and we can avoid spilling any godly blood."
"If you touch me, you'll face the wrath of my father."
"Of Cupid?" Octavian snorted. "Wow, I'm so scared. Quaking in my boots right now, really."
Her jaw shifted, a furious flush creeping across her cheeks. "At least I have a godly father. Would Apollo spare a second of his time to mourn you after I stab you in the eye?"
Octavian didn't waste a second before aiming another arrow, this time directly at her heart.
She let out a yelp, jolting out of the way and allowing the arrow to dig into the tree bark. "Are you trying to kill me?" She cried, though the second the protest left her lips, she knew it was foolish of her to ask.
"Is that not obvious?" He raised a mocking eyebrow. "I'm winning this damn game, Campbell. If that means a measly child of Cupid loses her life, I don't quite care. Now, I'll give you one more chance — come down, or I'll shoot you."
"Am I supposed to be scared? You haven't had much luck yet."
Another arrow, an inch from her hand, and she nearly lost her grip on the tree once again. "Do you want to keep playing this game, Laoise? Because I can go all night."
"Please, you can't last five minutes," she winked at him, an innuendo that Octavian surely understood, as his face burned scarlet. However, as quickly as his flustered nature came, it went, leaving a smirk in its absence.
"I don't think you want to make that bet. Trust me, you'd be the one begging for more when I'm done," he moved his arrow towards her once more, the tip aimed at her heart just as it had before. "Now, are you going to play nicely and come down?"
"Nope."
"Fine," Laoise expected the boy to shoot at her again, but instead, he set his bow and arrow on the ground, and instead, began to scale up the tree himself.
Shit. Shit shit shit.
"Come any closer and I'll kick you off!" She shouted at him as he slowly but surely hoisted himself up onto the branches, until he was only feet away from her.
"I'll grab you and take you down with me, then," he gave her that stupid grin of his, and before she knew what was happening, Octavian was level with her, holding onto the branch closest to her and meeting her eyes. "Now, are you going to come down now, or do I have to push you? Believe it or not, I don't particularly enjoy hurting women, though I suppose I can make an exception for someone as insufferable as you."
"That's rich, coming from you."
"Hey, I'm not the one who spends all their time in front of the mirror, making sure my makeup is spotless."
"I don't expect you to understand the concept of caring about your appearance," Laoise smirked, though it was a lie and she knew it. Octavian was handsome enough to be mistaken for a child of Cupid himself, with high cheekbones and a gaze that sliced everything it came across. "You're too far gone to even attempt to reach a decent beauty standard."
Octavian's jaw shifted, and while he went to reach for something in his pocket, he would never reach his destination, as a deafening noise filled the air. The sound of horns, so loud that Laoise jolted, nearly losing her footing in the tree.
"The game's over," Octavian breathed, staring down at the ground below them. "It must be an emergency, if Reyna's so quick to end it."
"Do you think it's—"
"No," he cut her off, shaking his head. "No, it can't be Brigid. She wouldn't dare come back."
"Not without an army," Laoise added, "But she might have one by now. We all know how persuasive she is, with her charmspeak. I bet she could even charm the Gods themselves into doing her bidding."
"We should go," Octavian said as he began to climb back down the tree, giving her one last look, before jerking his chin in a silent order to follow him.
While Laoise felt the urge to remain in the tree for no reason other than to spite him, she knew that Reyna wouldn't sound the horns unless it was important, and she had no desire to get on the woman's bad side.
Her fear of Reyna was the only thing that had her climbing down after Octavian, eventually settling back on the ground. The boy was fiddling with his bow and arrows, slinging them across his shoulder, but still hoisted in a way that if needed, he could easily access.
While he may have not been worried about Brigid when speaking, it was evident that the opposite was true. He expected an attack.
Laoise reached for her knife again, clutching the handle of the blade so hard that her knuckles went white. Oh, how easy it would be to shove the thing in Octavian's back...play it off as an accident...
"Don't even think about stabbing me, Campbell" Octavian hissed from ahead of her, as though somehow sensing her thoughts.
"Wouldn't dream of it," she rolled her eyes, though she still felt the urge, and had to physically restrain herself. If her prediction was correct, that Brigid had returned to Camp Jupiter, they'd need all the soldiers to fight as they could spare. Octavian may have come off as weak when shooting his arrows at her, but she knew he was a good aim — he'd be useful against the child of Venus. Assuming she wasn't able to charmspeak him, that was.
They reached the center of the camp after ten or so minutes of walking, where a massive crowd had already formed, with the ever-regal Reyna in the center, speaking to Jason Grace in a hushed tone.
However, it wasn't the two older demigods that caught Laoise's attention, but the little boy next to them, crying as he clutched his teddy bear.
"Logan?" Laoise wasted no time before rushing through the swarm of people and towards the boy, kneeling down next to him so they were nearly level. "Logan, what's wrong? Talk to me."
"My dad came," He sniffed, wiping away a stray tear with the palm of his hand, before glancing up at Reyna and Jason.
"Vulcan was here?"
Laoise rose back to her feet, spinning around to see Octavian hovering behind her, with a worried expression etched into his face.
"What was he doing? What did he want?" Octavian continued to question when Reyna nodded gravely.
"It's about Brigid, that fucking traitor." Her jaw was clenched, a vein twitching in her neck as she glanced between Laoise, Octavian, and Logan. "Vulcan wants Logan to go on a quest to defeat her, before she gets strong enough to take over Camp Jupiter."
"He wants Logan to go on a quest?" Octavian repeated, and when Renya nodded, he continued, "But he's a kid!"
"You think I don't know that?" Reyna snapped. "Hell, Octavian, I'd rather go on it myself than allow a child to do it. But do we have a choice? Vulcan chose him."
Logan sniffed.
"He's a kid." Laoise protested, placing a hand atop Logan's shoulder, gently squeezing in an attempt to ground him. How the hell do you expect him to lead a quest?"
"I don't know. Fuck, you think I know?" She ran a hand through her hair. "I can't go on it with him, I have a camp to run. Logan will have to pick the two he wants to attend with him. Logan, please, choose carefully."
"Teddy." He said almost instantly, hugging his bear to his chest. "I want Teddy to come."
"Well, of course he can go with you." Laoise rubbed his shoulder with her thumb, as her stomach churned.
A boy like Logan, so young, so naive, he wouldn't last long at all against Brigid. He may have been a child of the flames, but her charmspeak was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. The exiled demigod could easily trick him into jumping off a cliff, if she so desired. Brigid was no stranger to cruelty, either. Laoise didn't trust for a moment that she'd spare a child.
Logan looked up at her with wide brown eyes and a sad smile. "Will you come with me, Laoise?"
She let out a breath, the nausea in her stomach only increasing. Yes, she should say yes, but...what good was she? She wasn't a child of anyone useful, the only thing she was good for was her sex appeal. She didn't even have the charmspeak that children of Venus like Brigid possessed, simply the ability to attract those who liked women.
Useless. She was useless, just as her mother had always told her. Useless to help Logan. Useless to do anything but draw in men and women alike.
Octavian looked at Laoise, their eyes meeting for the briefest of moments, before they both reverted their attention back to Logan. "If Laoise goes, I'm going too."
"Why?" Her brow furrowed together.
Their eyes met once again, his expression unreadable. "Because I don't trust you to keep him safe. Because you're the child of Cupid, what good are you?"
"You aren't even a demigod!" Laoise protested, gritting her teeth. "What can you do? Nothing!" She whipped back to look at Logan, breath suddenly heavy. "I'm going with you, Logan. I'll keep you safe. I swear it."
Octavian's jaw clenched, clearly surprised that she'd actually taken him up on his bet. Now, it was his turn to prove his loyalty to his words.
"I'll go too."