By the time night had fallen in the park, Gabriel had found himself within the confines of the organically-enclosed dryad communal. It was shaping up to be business as usual, with dryads of all shapes and sizes conversing amongst themselves and generally enjoying each other's company. Willow was off making her rounds, visiting talking circles and picking up on the latest gossip.
The Harvestchild found himself in a quiet corner of the enclosure, his mind racing with the events of the day. It was pretty eventful, to say the least. Reclining against the trunk of an aged, familiar Oak, the Harvestchild presented his sword. He twisted and examined the weapon, the verdant sheen of its enchanted coating gleamed in the low light.
"You're pretty flexible, ain'tcha?" He pondered softly as he examined the blade. With a quick thought, the weapon sprouted thick thorns. It was a move similar to the first night he acquired the sword. And with another thought, the thorns receded. Then, he shrunk it down to his traveling size before growing it back up. "Think I'm finally getting the hang of this." As he mumbled, the blade sagged into its vine-like state, just like it did a couple of hours prior.
"Hmm..." With the workings of an idea beginning to churn, Gabriel rose to his feet to face the tree he was resting against. Eyeing for a sturdy branch, the Harvestkid began swinging the vine in his dominant hand. "Whatcha up to, Bambi?" Willow surprised him, approaching the boy from behind.
"Striking an activity off of my to-do list." With his answer, Gabe threw the vine into the old Oak's canopy...only for it to fall back down at his feet. Willow couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's mishap. "Go on, try it again, Bambi." Even so, her reply was warm, curious, and motherly all the same. So with a second attempt, he cast the line back into the tree. On this attempt, it caught the closest branch and was able to secure itself around the bark.
"Cool." He muttered with a microscopic smirk. "Now if I can get it to extend like this, then..." He had a new hypothesis to test. With a securing tug, the line began to retract, ascending up into the tree. Quick to react, Gabriel gained a better grip before taking careful steps up the Oak's trunk. Willow's lips pursed with an impressed nod. "Clever boy..." She remarked with a raised eyebrow, keeping a careful eye on him all the while.
"I know, right?" He quietly joked back. Within a few seconds, Gabe was able to perch himself upon the targeted branch. With a grin, the playful nymph followed after, ending up beside the boy in less-than-half the time. "Ya still not faster than me, though." She boasted cheekily. "I'll get there one day," Gabe replied with another tiny smirk. The nymph jostled him a bit as she threw an arm over his shoulders. The two shared a chuckle as Gabe relaxed against her. With a satisfied sigh, he resumed his recounting of the day's events.
"Busy day, today." He began listing the happenings, counting them down with his fingers.
"Got jumped..."
"Bad thing." Willow shook her head.
"Got the hellhound outta your tree..."
"Very good thing." She nodded.
"Met another demigod for the first time..."
"Good thing...?" She wasn't too sure.
"And now I have a way to climb trees." There were clear strides being made on the boy's behalf. And even then, there was still this feeling of uncertainty niggling at the back of his mind, a lingering mental exhaustion that hasn't let up since he's been chased out of his grandmother's house.
"How're you feeling?" Willow asked a simple query that boy couldn't help but interpret in more than one way.
"Mentally, or physically?" He asked back, eyebrow cocked in search of clarification. "Let's go with both." She replied. With another sigh, the Harvestchild gazed out into the calming scene of the communal.
"Physically, I'm a little more than sore, and my face is still throbbing from almost getting my skull kicked in..." His facial features might've been scratched and bruised from the combination of fights he experienced that day, but it was a wonder there wasn't blood leaking from any orifice. Must've been one of the benefits that came from being half-a-god. He also didn't want to keep bringing a focus back to the afterschool ambush, but every time he kept pushing it away, it kept coming back to the front of his mind.
"...But otherwise, I'll live. Scars and bruises have never slowed me down before." His visage stood classically neutral and stoic as he recounted, at least temporarily. "Mentally..." He hesitated with his next response.
"Mentally, I think I just want things to slow down. It's like I learn something new every day...for better or for worse. It just feels like I haven't had time to process it all. I don't even know what was done with my grandmother's body..." Such a thought made him realize that he hadn't been back to the house since the incident. Willow rubbed his shoulder for comfort. It made him think of the positives.
"Glad I met you guys, though." He commented. "Never could talk to my grandma the way I can with you. And I never really got to know any of my extended family." He paused, looking for the right words to say next. "When you dropped me off this morning, I felt like you were way too attached to someone you've only met a week ago." The bluntness in Gabe's tone made the nymph frown a bit.
"But now, I kinda understand. You, and Sister Dawn, and Red Ash and everyone...you all fill that bit of a blank my, uh...lack of a family left." Seemed like something the kid found hard to admit, but he felt a sense of relief once he did. Willow's arm transitioned into a full embrace.
"It makes me so happy to hear that." She answered softly, her smile genuine and modest. It was a level of comfort the boy had never experienced before. He wanted his problems to melt away, wanted to fall asleep in her arms. And knowing Willow, she probably would've let him. That is, if they weren't sitting high up in someone else's tree.
...And if something else didn't catch her attention. Her nose twitched, a certain pungent scent invading her nostrils. She perked up, garnering the Harvestchild's attention. "Willow? What's up?" As he asked, he noticed the ambient conversations of the other nymphs began to die down. Some began standing, some started hiding their children. It was clear they were growing alerted.
"Another demigod...I think. It's not super clear, but they're nearby." Her reply made the boy perk up straight as well. "Again?" His brow furrowed, he was growing miffed. Whoever it was, they were cutting in on prime bonding time. He had an idea who it might've been.
"I already told them no earlier-" His grumblings were cut short, as a dull, heavy THUD made landfall just a couple of steps away from the Elder Tree. Somebody had landed smack dab in the middle of the communal and was using something to shroud their person. Nymphs in the immediate area flipped from "Alert" to "Assault Mode" almost instantly; those with weapons quickly brought them forward.
The apparently transparent individual shimmered deceptively against the dim light of night and removed their helmet. As the cloak dropped, her gray wings folded against her back as she adjusted her glasses.
"You girls should know the ins and outs of this park, maybe you all can help me find somebody!" She boastfully announced to the alarmed crowd.
Willow and Gabriel descended from the tree. "A Valkyrie? Here...?" The dryad whispered. Her guise of intrigue contrasted the Harvestchild's signature scowl. Where Willow was hesitant in her approach, Gabe sped up his gait. His heart began to race as his adrenaline began to spike. He didn't know who the bird girl was, but he knew damn sure she couldn't hang around for long. Judging by the earlier encounter, he knew too many demigods in one place was a bad idea. Ferals could discover the communal the longer she lingered about.
"Whoever you're looking for, they ain't here." He told her. "Skedaddle." He waved dismissively. The girl smirked at his defiance. "You sure? Because it looks like the guy I'm looking for is right in front of me."
...In her defense, he did stick out like a sore thumb against a community of green women.
"I already talked to your friend earlier. I told him I wasn't interested." The longer the girl hung around, the more his temper began to slip. The grip he had on his sword tightened. Seemed like she noticed the motion, as her expression flitted from a cocky grin to an aggressive grimace. "Well, he asked. I'm telling."
Gabe never was a fan of threats. "Try me." In an explosion of physical energy, his weapon fell back into a vine as he lashed it in the Valkyrie's direction. It was obvious he wasn't thinking too clearly in that moment, as the young Valkyrie simply caught the vine whip. Her lips curled into a malicious, devilish grin.
"Fuck yeah, I've been itching for a fight all day-" With emphasis, she gained a better grip on the whip before giving it a firm tug. Unprepared for the girl's ferocious strength, such a decisive yank threw the Harvestchild off of his feet and into her direction. She leaped forward with a flap of her wings, catching the boy by the scruff of his neck within the closed distance. She held him aloft, soaking in the opportunity to put her strength on display.
"Rookie mistake, scrub." She snickered, tightening her grip on his dirtied shirt.
"You're not fit to save this world." She taunted. True as that might've been, Gabe's focus was elsewhere. As far as he was concerned, he had to get her out of there.
"I don't care. I just need to keep them safe." He grunted, raising a finger to the surrounding nymphs. For just a second, the girl and Gabe found something in common, as she bore a hot scowl similar to his.
"You sound like a selfish retard-!" It took her one swift motion for her to bring him in close and smash her forehead against the bridge of his nose. Such a force knocked the boy out cold. His head lurched back, and his body slumped in unconscious defeat.
"Gabe!" Willow exclaimed, beginning to rush into the fray as his weapon slid out his grasp. Freya began repositioning Gabe's body for transport as she recovered the sword.
"Stay back, nymph." The angry Valkyrie demanded, harshly slinging the boy over one of her shoulders. Once hesitant in approaching the demigod, the dryad's stance stood firm as she stared down the arrogant teen.
"Hope you can carry two people at once, 'cuz Bambi isn't going anywhere without me!" She raised her voice. Freya rolled her eyes.
"Ugh. You gave him a pet name." With a disgusted look, the Valkyrie dismissed Willow shortly before putting on her helmet and taking off.
...Or, she would've. "Don't you dare-!" The distressed dryad reacted, catching the girl by her ankle. Her feet were sure to never leave the ground. She began pulling the girl back to earth.
"I know that demigods are born for some greater purpose. I know that Gabe will have some bigger part to play in this universe. But right now...he's just a kid in dire need of support and guidance...he needs me." She had more to say on that, but cut herself short to prevent putting all her personal baggage out in the open.
"What're you, his mom?" The Valkyrie grunted as she continued her attempt at slipping out of the dryad's grasp. Such a comment struck a chord with the dryad, and she briefly diverted her gaze.
"Fine, whatever!" In exasperation, the girl touched back down. "Jesus, spare me the sob story bullshit!" She grunted, snatching up the pleading dryad before taking to the skies a second time.
"Some dirty black kid and his dryad mom...this better be fucking worth it." The girl grumbled as she gained altitude.
Once the three reached a high enough height, Willow spoke up. "What're you gonna do to him?" She asked the young girl. "Me? You think I'm masterminding all this? God, you nymphs are stupid. Now I see where he gets it from." Freya scoffed and shook her head.
"I don't have sway in the words of our gods, but if it were up to me, I'd get this kid some proper combat training or something 'cuz he can't fight. He probably would've died by now if he didn't have this sword on him." The girl stated, she and Willow glancing at the sword.
"It's a crutch. If you want stinky little son to live, then he'll need to learn how to put his damn hands up. Also, he's gonna need a better lock on his abilities. A Harvestkid was literally surrounded by trees and grass and didn't use any of it to his advantage. What a sad display." Freya scoffed again.
"He's still figuring it all out." Willow tried to defend.
"Mmhm. And I'm sure you were no help, too." The snappy Valkyrie's words cut the nymph, filling her with a guilt she almost anticipated. It was true, Willow employed a "wait and see" approach with Gabriel, simply because she wasn't sure how to utilize that portion of the child's life. She had hoped the girl would speak up again, to help get her mind off of her follies. Instead, Freya stayed quiet for the remainder of her flight, letting the nymph simmer in her awkward, emotional agony.
Later...
Gabe awoke to the ambient sounds of a television infomercial, softly filling up the air of someone's living room. He could only assume the girl dumped him on the loveseat before going on about her business.
She wasn't in the room, he noticed, but Gabe quickly spotted Adrian off to the side, engaged in a video game on what looked to be a really expensive computer.
I mean, he's got it all: dual monitors, wireless controllers, surround sound headphones, obnoxiously glowy tower, the works.
As Gabe shifted on the leather seat, the firebred demidude glanced in the boy's direction, partially removing his headset in the process.
"So...I see you've met Freya." He greeted, his voice low and smug. If this were a sitcom, the live studio audience would've been rigged to laugh here.
Still feeling the effects of being rendered unconscious via headbutt, Gabe felt it better to just remain still and let the searing migraine pass by. Between that, and getting kicked in the face, he couldn't help but wonder if he had some sort of concussion.
"Yeah, she's a real fucking angel." He groaned, opting to just close his eyes and return to the supine position.
"She's more of a Valkyrie, actually." Adrian clarified. Gabriel grunted in pained frustration before slumping back into slumber.