"That was so much fun," Cherrie clapped as we walked through her front door, successfully getting out of the rain. "We should do that more of'en!"
I laughed and scratched the back of my neck. The thought sounded less than appealing to my ears. "I don't know if I could make it through another one of your shopping trips...," I casually admitted. We chuckled as we hauled all of my shopping bags into the house and quickly put them away into the drawers of the room I was staying in. The pup we'd saved seemed rather curious, sniffing around as he traveled through the house. I made sure to keep a tight eye on him.
Pulling out the new technology that we'd bought, Cherrie grinned and grabbed the iPod. "Yay! I get to expose yer virgin ears to music." I rose a brow at her elated behavior, still unsure about how to handle her strange attitude. She practically skipped with delight to her computer and plugged the music player into it. "Hmm...What should we name yer it?" She turned to me, curiously.
I shook my head. "I don't know..." I picked up Orion as he began exploring the living room, and pet him softly. One thing bothered me excessively: who would leave this adorable puppy out in the cold?
"Oy! I got it." She smirked and typed in 'olive of the gods'. Wow. "I made ye a playlist of songs that I'm pret'y sure you'll like," Cherrie laughed and uploaded 'Olive' to the iPod. The computer told us that it would take at least an hour to finish downloading from Cherrie's Itunes account. She sighed contently at her job well done and turned to me and Orion.
"And, what are we gonna do with ye?" Cherrie picked Orion out of my arms and held him up into the air as he squirmed around, practically nothing more than a small puddle of skin. He couldn't be older than two months - if he was even that old. She pat him while she thought out loud, "I think I have an ol' dog cage 'e can sleep in, but he'll be doin' his business outside." She gave him a sharp look. Almost immediately, Orion jumped from her hands and ran to the sliding door, pawing at it politely.
Amused, I ran over and opened the door for him. Bravely, the puppy ran into the storm to do his business, then came back inside - drenched to the bone. I chuckled and quickly got a towel to dry him. Cherrie checked the downloading process and groaned. "It's up ter TWO 'ours!"
To occupy ourselves, Cherrie and I went over baby names. She said she didn't know the sex of the baby, she wanted it to be a surprise. I remembered that she had originally called it a 'daughter', and when I brought that to her attention, she chuckled and told me she hoped it would be; a boy was fine as well.
"Hm...well if it is a boy,...I think Rex." I laughed and Cherrie's face twisted into a weird look of dislike.
"Woah, woah, woah! Like ther dinosaur? No," She giggled.
"Okay. Fine, Alexander, Xander for short. " I smiled and rested my cheek on top my hand, thinking of the stories my mother used to tell me about a brave warrior named Alexander.
"Hmm.." Cherrie popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth and thought it over. "Yeah, I like it." She chewed over some more popcorn before raising a brow towards me, adjusting her legs so she would be more comfortable on the couch. Wha' about a girl?"
I sighed. "Arethena. Especially if she were mine." The name brought so many mixed feelings it hurt.
"Arethena?" Cherrie raised a brow. "Pret'y, but strange. How'd ye come up with that?"
"It's a mix between Ares and Athena," I informed her. "It's what I wanted my mom to name Penny, but she obviously didn't." A chuckle shook my chest as I thought about myself demanding my mother to name my little sister Arethena. She'd laughed at me, reminding me that Penelope was already a year old. I didn't care, I'd thought it was a much more appealing name.
Cherrie got up, a difficult feat with her stomach so ballooned. "I ha'e something for ye."
"Oh no. The clothes were more than enough," I sighed, but followed her anyway, bringing the bowl of popcorn with us.
"Actually, if ye would believe it or no, this wasn' from me," She smirked at me, opening the door to the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets, muttering to herself, wondering aloud where she'd placed it.
"Oh?" I ate some popcorn as she led me and chuckled as Orion ran to keep up with us. "Then who? You are the only person who knows me here."
"I don't know, but it was lef' on me doorstep t'is mornin' with a note tha' said 'for Olive'. I hadn't opened it yet." She pulled open a drawer in the kitchen, crying out 'found ya', and took out a small, brown box tied with a chocolate brown ribbon, handing it to me.
Silently, I took the box, frowning. I glanced up at her, confused at the random gift, worried if I should open it or not. Giving into the curiosity that pebbled my stomach, I opened the lid to reveal a golden chain necklace with an oval shaped locket dangling on the end. Painted on the locket was a bow and arrow. I fingered the painting in silence before pulling the jewelry from the box. I held it in the air, examining it closer, getting a more detailed view of the brush strokes on the painting. Nervously, I clasped the necklace around my neck, wondering what it meant and why it had randomly appeared on Cherrie's doorstep.
"Ye don' reco'nize it?" Cherrie asked me.
I frowned. "No, I don't think I have ever seen this before." I pushed open the locket to see if there was a familiar photo inside, or something that could relate this locket to me, and felt something heavy resting on my back, making me jolt in surprise, heart pounding erratically against my chest in fear. My hands shook as I reached for the article on my shoulders and discovered that it was a quiver of golden arrows. Gasping, I took it off and held it in my hands, watching the way the golden color flickered against the fluorescent kitchen light. Attached to the quiver loaded with arrows was also an elegantly carved bow.
"Impossible," I muttered.
Cherrie stared in mild surprise at what I held in my hands.
"What is going on?" I asked her. I closed the locket and the bow and arrows suddenly disappeared. Yet, when I opened the locket once more, they reappeared again on my back. If I said I didn't play around with the vanishing weapons, I would be a liar.
"Amazing," Cherrie muttered.
"Do you know what is going on?"
"Not entirely, no," Cherrie frowned. "But what I do know is tha-"
Ding Dong the doorbell chimed.
I frowned and glanced at the clock, it read 9:15 pm. "Are you expecting someone?" I asked Cherrie, thinking it was odd. It had never really dawned on me before that moment, but in the time that I'd spent with Cherrie she'd never had a single visitor over.
"No. Not at all," She frowned, but did not make a move to answer the door.
"It's kinda late for unexpected visitors," I mentioned, nodding towards the front room. I noticed how it was becoming harder for Cherrie to get around, due to her pregnancy, so I offered to get the door. "I'll get it." I stood from my chair, forgetting the bow and arrows on my back because of the sudden wave of danger that had flooded through the house in a matter of seconds.
"Oh, no!" Cherrie jumped up to stop me, "Yer okay, I'll get it." She plastered a smile onto her face.
"Are you sure? 'Cause I can get it," I started to walk towards the kitchen doors, the feeling of a threat edging its way into the air.
"No! No, no. It's fine! Really," She waved me aside, walking around me. "I've got it! I'll jus' close t'is door," she pulled on the sliding door that separated the kitchen from the front room and slid it so only her head was showing, "an' get the door, ye stay here." Then, she quickly closed the door before I could protest.
I opened and shut my mouth in surprise. What was she hiding from me? I tiptoed over to the door and pressed my ear to the crack. Maybe she had a secret boyfriend. I think anything other than that would be rude to leave me hanging on the explanation of this weird, magic locket.
Sitting in the closed off kitchen, I imagined Cherrie making her way to the door. She didn't want me to be seen, and while it made me feel a bit anxious, I felt it was best to stay put and respect her wishes... no matter how odd.
I listened as Cherrie answered the door. "Ye can't be here. It's in'erference!" She muttered.
"Interference? That rule would apply if I was a god." I heard a woman coldly sneer. "Where is the girl?" I froze, is this why she was acting weird?
"Wha' girl?" Cherrie giggled, "Ye mean me niece?"
"Right, your niece. Where is she?" I frowned. Who was this woman and why did she want to know where I was? Obviously, I was the girl they were talking about, Cherrie didn't have any relatives, or at least that's what she'd told me.
"She's back at me bro'her's house. Where she belongs. Why?" Cherrie was a pretty fair liar from what I could hear. I pressed my ear to the crack in the door and winced when it caused a loud creak to echo through the house.
"Really?" The cold voice sounded smug, and I heard footsteps coming closer.
Quickly, I closed my locket, causing the bow and arrows to disappear. The footsteps got closer to the door, so I scrambled to look as if I hadn't been listening by the door and sat at the island counter.
Violently, the door slammed open, making Orion let out a yelp of surprise from under the corner of the kitchen. Worried that he'd hurt himself, I sent him a calming look before addressing the elephant in the room.
"U-uhm, the lady from the Apple store?" I jumped up from my seat, frowning as I thought about the music player Cherrie and I had bought. Was there something wrong with it?
"Hmm, yes dear." Her voice changed to sound sweeter, but I could hear an undertone of venom still coursing through her words from when she'd been verbally fighting with Cherrie.
"What do you want?" I stepped closer, challenging her as I remembered how she'd barged into the house. Clearly, this wasn't a business visit, but I was still a little scared, unsure about the feeling she gave me.
"We need to talk." Her eyes trailed to Cherrie who had walked up next to me with a frown plastered on her face, replacing the smile from before. "Alone."
"I don' think tha's a good ide-" Cherrie stepped forward, but I cut her off, not wanting her to get injured by the malicious lady in the room. I had lost too many female figures in my life to trust the scene in front of me.
"Okay, let's talk outside," I spoke softly, trying to keep the woman calm so she wouldn't try to hurt Cherrie or her baby. I walked to the front door and held it open for her.
"Perfect," She sneered a little and stepped onto the porch, into the storm.
I turned and closed the door, but when I turned back around, the cold, creepy Apple lady was gone, and in her place was a monster with leathery skin.
"What the hell?" I backed up against the door in surprise. It smiled evilly at me, a sharp, toothy grin that made horror grip my heart as it charged towards me, spreading its leather wings and taking to the air, taloned feet outstretched as if to slash at me.
Quickly I fell to the ground and rolled, dodging the beast in shock. My ribs knocked against the cement stairs descending from Cherrie's front door, causing pain to shoot up my torso. The winged creature flew at me again, but this time I was more prepared, mentally trying to block out the throbbing pain in my chest as I scrambled on the cold, wet ground.
My brain was reeling, trying to catch up with what was going on while my body was a machine, doing everything in its power to save my ass.
As if I was being controlled by an unknown force, my left hand pushed open the locket hanging around my neck, and I felt the weight of my bow and arrows resting in between my shoulder blades. The monster turned around in the air and raced towards me again, but this time I managed to dodge the creature's attack once more.
A gurgling snarl ripped through the hideous thing's chest. 'What was this thing?'
"Fury," A small voice echoed in my ear, an unspoken response to my unspoken question, throwing me off my guard. Annoyed at this game of cat and mouse, the fury sneered at me and let out a loud, shrill shriek, causing me to throw my hands over my ears in a feeble attempt to block out the piercing sound.
Once I recovered, my hand flew behind my back to grab my bow. The fury did not waste any time to attack me as I tried to string an arrow. The fury swiped its talons at me, but this time, I was not quick enough to dodge its attack. Instead, the fury's claws sunk into my right cheek and tore through my skin. As my skin ripped, my face ignited into a searing pain, a pain I had never experienced before. A yelp of agony burst from my mouth.
The fury released my face as I tumbled to the sopping wet gravel and it let out a high-pitched snicker, amused by my blood and my pain. I pulled my hand away from the wound and cursed at the pool of blood that was already forming. I could feel my pulse against the cut in my cheek, throbbing and pushing more blood from the wound with every speeding heartbeat. The sight of so much of my blood shed caused something inside me to snap.
Pissed, I fumbled onto my feet and regained my energy with every ray of moonlight that peeked through the storm clouds. The rain and wind whipped my hair across my face and into the air, freezing water drenching me to the bones, but I was more focused than ever.
Taking a deep breath, I pulled an arrow out of my quiver and strung it onto my bow. Closing one eye, I aimed at my target.
The Fury glared at me and let out a menacing hiss before charging at me once more. A grin broke over my lips, enflaming the pulsing cut on my cheek, but I stood my ground until the fury was within a spitting distance of me before letting my arrow fly. Nervously, I watched as the arrow soared, as if in slow-motion, and sunk deep into the fury's chest. The sound of a foreign object slicing through skin and muscle echoed through the stormy night.
Surprised, and shocked, the Fury stared at the arrow protruding from its body, then it let out a gargled scream that tore through the streets before disappearing completely, leaving only my arrow behind, clattering to the rain-slicked pavement below. When it dissolved, I dropped to my knees and took in some deep breaths, gasping for air. The unknown force that had been controlling me had finally lifted and I was free to feel a small form of shock, a fair amount of weakness, and a large, heaping amount of confusion.
Applause sounded from behind me, drawing me from my stupor.
"That was..., amazing!" Cherrie called from behind me. "I mean really..., I don't think I have seen any half-blood fight that decent without being trained up first!" I quickly noticed that Cherrie's accent had been dropped.
Slowly, I got off my knees and also noticed that my face did not hurt as much as it had twenty or so seconds ago, but since my heart was pumping twice as fast with adrenaline, my wound was gushing blood more profusely.
I could feel the trails of it streaming down my neck, mingling with rain water and soaking into the fresh shirt Cherrie had bought me.
I gulped in a few lungfuls of the moist air, rain splattering against my face, and looked Cherrie in her eyes. "What the hell is going on?!" I breathed out, feeling a bit faint and a bit queasy.
Cherrie frowned. "Come on inside, I'll explain everything..." She propped open her front door.
~~~~~