Kakorrhaphiophobia- Fear of failure or defeat
"No," Annabeth admitted, her face falling. Her hand reached down and grasped Aza's, who squeezed gently. She felt her heart ache as every camper began to mutter, the mood dampening. Each and every camper missed Percy, even if they didn't want to admit it - even Clarisse, though she wasn't at camp, was worried, and she had hated Percy for years. The first day, it was entirely plausible that Percy had gone on some spontaneous trip, but the instant Sally Jackson didn't know where her son was, that theory was debunked; Percy told his mother everything, especially every travel of his. The second day was when the worry truly set in, and when the search teams were sent out. It was when the rumors began to spread around camp; some said Percy had been kidnapped in the night by Kronos' avengers, some said Percy went on a secret mission to Olympus. But no one truly knew where he was. The third day is when the anxiety set in; no one knew where he was, and it was when the fears became more real and the possibility that he was dead became real.
Another girl stepped forward, and Aza's teeth clenched in anticipation. It was Drew Tanaka, an admittedly beautiful Daughter of Aphrodite. She was a tall, slim Asian girl with dark hair that fell in annoyingly perfect ringlets down her back. She wore plenty of jewelry - golden bangles, bedazzled rings and a necklace with gems that almost blinded Aza every time she looked at it. Drew's face sported makeup that was perfect enough to make a makeup-artist cry. Somehow, she managed to make the less-than-flattering neon orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, paired with ripped jeans, look glamorous enough to make even the most beautiful model feel inferior.
But what Drew Tanaka had in looks, she lacked in personality - she was catty, rude and had a superiority complex that aggravated Aza to no end. But what was worse was that Aza couldn't find it in her to hate Drew. As the Daughter of Phobos, the god of fear, Aza had the power to identify other's fears (and to use it against them), and Aza could always feel the fear radiating off of her. She knew that inside, Drew was scared and terrified that she would never be good enough; she only became the cabin counselor after the death of Silena Beaugard, and she was terrified to never be as good as Silena. The fallen hero, who had sacrificed herself in the war, was kind and beautiful. She was someone that everyone loved, and someone who loved everyone. And Drew just wasn't that person, and that was okay. But Drew's fears twisted her, twisted her personality into someone just dislikable and rude. Before, Drew was just another annoying Daughter of Aphrodite that seemed to think she was more beautiful than everyone (a thought that, while rude, was rather true in Aza's opinion). But once she got the taste of power that one received when a cabin counsellor, she began to twist. She wanted more, and she wanted respect. But no one would ever give it to her, not after they had met Silena, and Drew acted out accordingly.
While Aza could never hate Aza, she was still extremely annoyed with the girl as she looked over their new campers. Drew's earthy brown eyes shone and she held herself with an air of confident that everyone wished they could copy. Her eyes slid over Leo as if he wasn't even there and landed on Jason, whom she examined closely like she was determining if he was worthy of even an ounce of her attention. She finally tore them from Jason, who looked extremely uncomfortable, and landed on Piper. Drew's lip curled closer towards her nose as though the girl were an expired eyeshadow (an apparently unforgivable offense to most in the Aphrodite Cabin).
"Well," Drew said, settling her perfectly manicured hands on her hips as her eyes once more met Piper's. "I hope they're worth the trouble." It seemed to Aza that her words were pointed more at Piper than anyone, as Drew seemed reluctant to look anywhere but the girl. Drew examined the girl closely as if analyzing her in every way. She could feel the fear that radiated from the girl as she looked at Piper, as if she were intimidated by the girl. But if Drew was, she didn't look like Piper's presence shook her in the slightest. She still held the same air of confidence; her back was straight and her shoulders were level. Her ruby-red lips, painted with only the best liquid lipsticks (Aza was sure she had heard the girl talk about 'Smashbox' lipsticks, but she wasn't sure of the shade) was curled slightly in a smirk, like she thought - no, knew - she was better than everyone. Aza wasn't sure if it was a façade or if Drew had finally begun to fool herself into thinking she truly was. Her chest was puffed out lightly and her left leg supported all her weight, popping out her right hip in the process.
Leo snorted, shaking his black curls in a way that reminded Aza of the pegasi. He rolled his eyes, which were alight with a mischief that Aza assumed was normal for the boy. Whilst fiddling with the same paperclips as before, he said, "Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?"
It seemed that Leo's critism of Drew gave Jason the confidence to speak because he agreed, "No kidding." His electric blue eyes hardened as he finally met Drew's gaze, but he refused to back down from her. "How about some answers before you start judging us - like, what is this place, why are we here, and how long do we need to stay?"
Aza clicked her tongue and shook her head. "No one is judging you, Jason," her russet eyes found Drew's and she gave the Daughter of Aphrodite a pointed look. She flickered her gaze from Drew's to Annabeth's, and the two had a silent conversation, debating on the best way to play out the situation and to keep all parties happy. Annabeth tore her stormy grey eyes from Aza's, meeting Jason's blue ones. "Jason, I promise we'll answer your questions, and Drew," Annabeth faltered, unsure of the best way to put what she wanted to stay. Annabeth never spoke unless completely sure of every word that came out of her mouth, which is where Aza often came in. The Daughter of Phobos was less thoughtful with her articulation and was willing to speak her mind, whereas Annabeth preferred not to. She knew Annabeth wanted to say something, but she wasn't quite sure she could find the best way to articulate it, which was rather strange when it came to Annabeth.
"Drew, it's not your place to determine if they're worth the trouble," Aza shot another pointed glance at Drew, trying to communicate with the girl more through her eyes than her words. She was trying to tell Drew to play nice, to stop putting this tough and bitchy façade that she did so often, so top judging people for once. "And for the record, all demigods are worth saving."
Drew slumped slightly. Her back curled inwards and her shoulders down-sloped. She looked slightly ashamed at Aza, and the Daughter of Phobos could sense an increase in fear - she thought, no, knew, that Drew realized that Silena would never say something like that. Annabeth spoke after a moment of silence, nodding glumly at Aza's words as if wishing that they saved the person who truly mattered in that moment; the one they had meant to save. "Though I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what we hoped."
Aza sighed, shaking her head once more. "If anything, it asked more questions than it answered."
"Hey," Piper sniffed slightly, her body stiffening as if she were under attack. Her face hardened, brows furrowing offensively. "we didn't ask to be brought here." Piper's words, which meant to be defensive and to articulate her point, to stop them from being attacked, seems to accomplish the opposite of what she hoped. At her words, Drew straightened importantly, looking like an alpha about to establish her dominance. She quirked a brow, her face hardening and her demeanor appearing aggressive once more - it was quite clear that she saw Piper as a threat and meant to establish her territory. "Nobody wants you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?" Drew's words, whilst cold, were spoken silkily. They were soft, but held a certain power to them that made Aza feel like she was intruding in a private conversation, like she shouldn't defend Piper.
But it seemed that Piper didn't need a defense because she took a heavy step forward, her kaleidoscopic eyes flashing angrily. She rose a hand, as if to slap Drew, but Annabeth fixed her with a stormy gaze. "Piper, stop." However powerful Drew's words were, Annabeth's were tenfold. It was quite clear that her words weren't a suggestion or a question, but a demand - it was either Piper stopped right there in her tracks or something bad happened. Piper hesitated momentarily, but with once glance at Annabeth's pointed glance, stormy grey eyes and her stoic demeanor, the girl froze. Her hadn't fell back to her side and she didn't look in any hurry to disobey Annabeth.
Aza spoke to the crowd as a whole, letting her eyes fall upon each and every camper. "We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome, the way we've made every other camper feel welcome. That is our job." There were a certain number of campers, those who knew Aza, who didn't flinch. But there were several who flinched as her russet eyes fell on them; they shied away from them, but inevitably looked into them. There was a Daughter of Aphrodite whom Aza had never met who gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, and Aza instinctually looked away from her and continued meeting eyes with everyone in the crowd.
She was used to people reacting to her eyes, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt anytime any did. Once Aza was done speaking to the campers, Annabeth nodded in agreement, biting her lips gently. "We'll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight..." Annabeth trailed off, focusing on a rock. She seemed to glaze over slightly, as if considering a new possibility, a new lead. A soft murmur filled the crowd, wondering why one of their clear leaders had trailed off so Aza continued. "Hopefully by the campfire tonight they'll be claimed."
Aza turned back to the three teens to see Piper's face crunch in confusion. Her choppy braids seemed to fly in the air as she threw up her arms and asked, "Would somebody tell me what claimed means?"
Before Piper's question could be answered, there was a collective intake of breath as each camper gasped in a symphony. Aza turned to see what had caused the reaction, only to see their faces bathed in a fiery red light, like someone had illuminated a traffic light right there. She turned behind her, trying to see where the red light had come from, only to see Leo, or more accurately the glowing symbol that hovered over his head. The red light was in the shape of a holographic image of a fiery hammer; it rippled in the light wind that blew through camp. There were several swears, and Aza could hear Aza, the senior camper of the Hephaestus cabin since Jake was injured, swear in Spanish.
"That," Annabeth said, motioning to the fiery symbol. "is claiming." Piper and Jason watched Leo in horror. The newly-claimed boy questioned, "What'd I do?" He backed towards the lake like a cornered animal, uncomfortable with all the attention on him - perhaps it was just the hologram, but his cheeks were blazed with a red blush. He glanced upwards, where the hologram sat above his head. Leo yelped, and his pupils dilated in panic. He ducked and swerved his head to the left, but the symbol followed him, bobbing and weaving in the air, moving with his head. "Is my hair on fire?!"
Nyssa's shook her head, her red bandana flopping. Her dark hair almost seemed to be on fire, which and her dark brown eyes were lit with an emotional fire. "This isn't good. The curse—"
"Nyssa," Aza warned, cutting the Daughter of Hephaestus off. Her eyes flashed, silently begging the girl not to speak further - she didn't want to cause Leo to panic further. She had a feeling that he could only take so much pressure and negativity before he began to crack, and Aza really didn't want to test his limits. Annabeth sighed, and the fire reflected in her storm-grey eyes that blazed in their own way. "Leo, you've just been claimed—"
"By a god," Jason interrupted. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it." His blonde brows were furrowed, as if remembering a muddled fact. His answer seemed automatic, without any conscious thought. But he looked confused as to how he knew, and Aza wasn't completely sure that the boy even knew who Vulcan was - Hades, Aza could only remember who Vulcan was because of Star Trek. Aza's brows furrowed. It took her several seconds to connect the species to the Vulcan that Jason referred to - unless, of course, he was referring to the extraterrestrial species. And if he was referring to the Roman aspect of Hephaestus, how did Jason know the Roman name? It wasn't common for most people to know the Roman aspect of the Greek gods, seeing as their Grecian aspects were much more popularized and well-known.
Annabeth exchanged a confused glance with Aza. The Daughter of Athena was clearly wondering the same thing, but neither could come up with the answer. "Jason," Annabeth questioned cautiously, as if expecting an outburst from the boy, or for him to become defensive upon being questioned. "how did you know that?"
Aza's thought that his knowledge wasn't conscious was confirmed as Jason shook his head. "I - I'm not sure." She could only assume that his knowledge, or lack thereof, was tied to his memory loss. Perhaps somewhere, buried deep in his mind, Jason could remember reading a Greco-Roman mythology book, or having the stories told to him - perhaps he remembered a project from a History-class, or perhaps he enjoyed mythology. But Aza couldn't help but have a nagging feeling, a tugging in her gut, that there was something deeper.
"Vulcan?" Leo demanded, drawing Aza's attention back to the boy, who was still swatting at the air, ducking and weaving all the while, trying to get rid of the fiery symbol. "I don't even like Star Trek! What are you talking about?" Aza felt slightly offended; she had so many memories of watching the show that both brought joy and pain, and she couldn't fathom the thought that another person didn't like it. She wanted to retaliate, but Leo's fear hit her over the head; it exuded from the boy in waves so powerful that it gave her a headache, and she had the feeling that not even comedy could make the boy feel better - the only solution was to give him answers. So, Aza spoke in the most soothing voice she could muster, the same one she used to speak to the younger children in the hospital, "Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus, Leo. He's the god of fire and blacksmiths, hence the hammer. It's his symbol."
As if on cue, the symbol began to faded. It spluttered, its light pulsing gently before burning completely out of existence, but Leo kept swatting at the air above him as though it would appear once more at any second. "The god of what?" Who?" His voice was higher-pitched than normal, and it Aza could feel his panic begin to increase. Between his, Nyssa's, and the other campers, Aza felt as though she were drowning in fear. She could fear her own begin to rise, feeling it rise up in her body slowly like a tidal wave. Aza opened her mouth, tried to speak, but a soft squeak came out instead. It altered Annabeth to Aza. Her grey eyes lightened, filling with concern - Annabeth had seen this happen to Aza too many times to count. And so, whilst Aza pushed down the fear, trying to separate it in her mind, Annabeth took over.
Jason watched Aza with concern as Annabeth turned to Will, who was clutching his bow and looking at Aza with a look that reflected both Annabeth and Jason's. With a look at the rest of the campers, she could see that their attention - in fact, most camper's attention save Leo - was on Aza.
The Daughter of Phobos' face was pale, but her body was a bright pink, as if all the blood in her body concentrated elsewhere. Jason tried to read the look in her eyes, but even he couldn't bare to look at them now - they were like a movie screen, reflecting images that made Jason feel as though he were drowning in fear - images that flickered between scenes as though unsure what to play. There was a white room, an isolated child that was crying out for someone or something that would never come. He could see a large gate shutting, closing as though it were never be open again a flame extinguishing itself on an abandoned pyre as a group of children watched sadly. He could see death, destruction; he could see children, young children, ruthlessly slaughtered. He could see a large, orange eye that overlooked a group of four, a small, suspiciously familiar, blonde girl holding something that seemed it would topple her at any second; he could see a winding maze, one that seemed impossible to solve. But Jason could see two things that were constant.
First, there was one boy seemed to be in almost every scene. His hair was as dark as the midnight sky, and his eyes were a fascinating color that reminded Jason of the lake their chariot had crashed into. It seemed that he grew as the scenes passed, from a young child to just older than Jason. He had a smile that reminded Jason of Leo's; it was mischievous, but was contagious. His orange t-shirt matched the ones of each camper, and a bronze sword glittered by his belt. In each scene, however, the images would flicker from him wearing that bright mischievous smile to him bloody on the ground, his sword just out of reach. Something dark seemed to be looming over him, and the boy looked fearful.
Secondly, whatever scenes the green-eyed boy wasn't in had another blonde. It was always the same scene; he wore a malicious smile with teeth that shone in a low light. His eyes looked like pools of molten gold, but his smile would drop once, twice, and each time his eyes would flicker to a bright blue that would rival the summer sky. He held a dual bronze-and-silver scythe that occasionally flickered towards a sword.
In the scenes of war, it seemed the blonde was far away, but seemed to be approaching slowly. The bodies of children piled all around him, but he didn't seem to want to stop it; he seemed to enjoy passing the body of a girl clad in greek armor, her long black hair flowing out of the helmet that was perched precariously on her head. He seemed to enjoy passing a blonde boy that clutched a bow tightly in his hand, with lifeless blue eyes that stared at the sky. He seemed to enjoy passing a dark-skinned boy clutching a black remote in his hand, his thumb still pressing the trigger; the body of a young girl half-spilling out of a large robotic man; a girl with a silver circlet upon her head with a bow clutched in her hand; a boy with hair so dark it was almost purple, clutching a thyrsus; a blonde boy that floated down a winding river, with rubble surfaced alongside him; a boy with one eye, fragments of a sword lodged in his stomach.
Each scene, the boy's eyes would flicker, and he would look sorrowful before the gold came back and the same cold exterior came back. The final scene that Jason could see contained only one body; it was the blonde boy, but his eyes were a solid blue. A small, sad smile was painted across his lips that seemed to be frozen in time.
Finally, Aza shook her head and stumbled lightly, catching herself on Annabeth. Her eyes returned back towards their normal russet colors, and the horrific scenes died down. Jason could no longer see what he could only assume were the fears of others; all he could see was the flickering of murk. He couldn't see anything except a heavy mist that obscured all else. The campers let out a harmonic sigh, and all looked all too relieved to be released from the haunting scenes of war. Jason could only assume they were used to seeing the same things in Aza's eyes - perhaps the same mist, but Jason didn't know - but it was a relief from seeing the horrific images from before. He watched Aza carefully as Annabeth whispered in her ear; he could see the frown across Aza's face. Jason could see her russet eyes shine with fear as they flickered between her own eyes and the mist that haunted him. She looked scared, like she, too, was watching those same fears. But more than anything, Aza looked exhausted, like she had been carrying that burden for so long.
There was a silence that fell across the crowd for so long; no one seemed eager to break it and discuss what they had seen. He could see a beautiful blonde girl sobbing in the back, her body shaking as she no doubt thought of the scenes of war. Each camper seemed to shocked to say anything, like they couldn't believe what they had seen - but Jason had the thought that they weren't non-believing as to what they saw; he assumed they were shocked that they had seen it again.
The silence was finally broken by Annabeth, who turned back towards Will Solace. "Will," she spoke calmly, as though the episode had never happened, but Jason could see the conflict in her eyes. "would you take Leo and give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunkmates in Cabin Nine."
"Sure, Annabeth," Will nodded, before turning back to Aza. He gave her a once-over, assessing to make sure she was fine. However angry Will was before about the wreckage of the chariot, it seemed to Jason that the chariot was now the furthest thing from his mind. He watched as Will reached over and squeezed Aza's hand, before turning to Leo, who stomped his foot like a petulant Latino's Santa elf. "What's Cabin Nine?"
Will rolled his eyes and placed a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Come on, Mr. Spock. I'll explain everything." The two walked off and Will led them towards the cabins. Annabeth wrapped her arm around Aza's shoulders, and the two turned to study Jason.
Aza was shaking lightly as Annabeth wrapped an arm around her, still plagued with the horrific images that flickered in her mind. It was only after she battled them, forcing them back into the deepest pit of her mind that she was able to stop them from playing themselves in her mind. She could still feel them back there, could still feel them creeping up just as all her fears did, but Aza did her best to push them back; did her best to focus on the scene. Her eyes were trained on Annabeth, who studied Jason like he was a complicated battle-plan that she needed to fix. Finally, Annabeth said, "Hold out your arm."
It seemed that this was the last response that Jason had expected, because he looked as though he had been slapped in the face. But he did so none-the-less, allowing Annabeth to wrap a hand around his wrist and pull him closer. Aza frowned, but followed the girl's gaze. Her russet eyes widened as she saw what had caught Annabeth's attention; Jason, who had taken off his windbreaker after their swim in the lake, extended his bare arm towards Annabeth. Aza stepped forward, examining it closely. On the inside of his right forearm was a tattoo - it was a dozen straight lines, like a barcode on a bag of chips. Over the barcode was an eagle, with its wings spread, and the letters 'SPQR'.
"I've never seen marks like this," Annabeth said, shaking her head and poking the skin lightly, as if feeling the tattoo would give her all the answers. "Where did you get them?"
Jason shook his head, frowning slightly. His face appeared sadder than it normally did as he said, "I"m getting really tired of saying this, but I don't know."
The other campers pushed forward, each trying to catch a glimpse of the tattoo that had caught Annabeth's attention. The marks seemed to bother them, like a declaration of war, but Aza know they were all too tense from the war that had happened only last summer; since then, each demigod that had survived became much tenser, much quicker to unsheathe a weapon. They were afraid.
"Aza, look," Annabeth motioned for her to feel the tattoo. Aza complied, brushing her fingertips gently over the skin of his forearm, feeling the way it was slightly raised above his normal skin. Aza frowned. "They look burned into your skin," She noted, and Annabeth nodded in agreement.
"They were," Jason said; he winced, as though he had a pounding headache that only just begun. "I-I mean, I think so. I don't remember."
No one said anything; instead, each camper looked to Annabeth and Aza as the two had a silent conversation. The two girls had led the camp through a war; they had aided the camp's hero in defeating the Titan Kronos. Surely they had the answer. No sounds came from either girl, but they instead communicated via head-nods and eye movements. The girls seemed to have the same suggestions, because Annabeth gave a soft smile and the two girls nodded simultaneously. The two turned towards the campers. Annabeth said, "He needs to go straight to Chiron. Drew, would you—"
Drew didn't seem to need any push. "Oh, absolutely!" The Daughter of Aphrodite chirped with a large smile before Annabeth could finish, looking extremely happy with her new job. She laced her arm through Jason, linking the fingers of her pink-polished nails together. "This way, sweetie. I'll introduce you to our director. He's... an interesting guy."
Aza didn't miss the smug look she gave Piper before turning on her heel and leading Jason towards the big blue mansion on the hill. The crowd began to disperse until it was just Aza, Annabeth and Piper left. Piper turned towards the girl, sounding worried, "Who's Chiron? Is Jason in some kind of trouble?"
"Good question, Piper," Annabeth said. "Come on, Aza and I will give you a tour. We need to talk."
A/N: Hi, so I know this chapter is complex. If you guys have any questions about the thing that happened with Aza's eyes, please let me know. And if you have any questions of the bodies that were mentioned, feel free to ask! I hope you guys enjoyed! I'm also sorry about the two POV switches but it was necessary