@Xᴀɴ_Tʜɪᴘᴘʏ
1:05 ───⊙─────── 5:13
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯
playιng: [Aǫᴜᴀʀɪᴜs Aᴘᴏᴄᴀʟʏᴘᴛɪᴄ] - [Sᴛᴏᴘ Lɪɢʜᴛ Oʙsᴇʀᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴs]
--------------------------------
Though she had told her brother that she'd be listening for his call, Xan couldn't help but drift asleep soon after the boys left, which was her first mistake. Sleeping was anything but peaceful, her dreams were often nightmares, or visions of the future, like most demigods; but for children of Apollo, things got a bit worse.
Xan knew she was seeing the future as soon as the dream began, because she had bought the jacket that she was wearing at the mall with Lydia just a few days ago, to prepare for winter. She paused, watching her future self fighting for her life, and noted with satisfaction that the jacket did indeed look cute from all angles.
Too bad, because the next thing she saw was the down being slashed open by something she couldn't quite see. It moved like an arrow or a dart might, but it was obviously much sharper than that. She heard her future self cry out in pain as another caught her in the thigh. This one stuck, and she could see that it looked almost like a quill.
The vision began to speed up now, she couldn't tell who was with her, or even where she was. She thought she could make out Aegis, and some flashes of Riptide through the chaos around her, but the only thing she could see for certain was a young boy. He looked frightened to death of everything going on around him, and there was an arm thrown across his chest, like someone was trying to move him away from danger. Their eyes locked, and her vision tunneled until it was just the two of them.
"Xanthippe," the boy called out to her. It was like they were propelled away from each other with just that one word. The scene around her was washed with a blinding light, accompanied by the sudden sick sensation of falling. When the light faded, she was looking through her own eyes again.
Xan was stood at the edge of a cliff, surrounded by thick snow. Brown eyes frantically searched through the snowflakes that swirled around her into the cold night air. Spiraling down and down towards a rocky beach and a violent sea. There was a crushing pressure in her throat, and a hollowness in her chest, the combination made her feel like she was being ripped in half from the inside. Her cheeks were slick, with tears or maybe blood, she couldn't say.
She was playing a life or death version of Where's Waldo, only she didn't have a clue what Waldo looked like. Xan was searching for something that meant a lot to her, but the pinch in her throat grew as it became harder to ignore what she already knew deep down: she had no chance at finding what she had lost. The snow and waves began to blur into a scene of blue and black, as her eyes became glazed with tears. Her future self fell to her knees, the roaring thump of her heartbeat reaching a crescendo with the loud cry that rang through the air.
Her lungs ached, and her throat was hot and scratchy as she gulped in the cool night air, having launched upright in her bed. She'd been screaming again. Suddenly, she was grateful that her mom was away at a conference, she'd have felt terrible if she'd disturbed her. Xan grabbed her twin swords, disguised as the very same tampons that Stiles had mocked earlier. She made a mental note to IM Beckendorf later and tell him the story, he'd get a good laugh out of it.
Xan crept down the stairs of the empty house, mostly out of habit, before remembering that she could make as much noise as she wanted. She remained silent though as she put on her muddy running shoes, grabbed the hoodie she had carelessly draped over the coat rack that afternoon, and made her second mistake of the night by heading out alone.
Wanting to go somewhere secluded, she steered herself towards Beacon Hills Preserve, where she could train to get her mind off of things. That was the plan at least. Her backup plan was, as it always was, having to defend herself from a monster attack, and the preserve was equally useful in that scenario as well. The woods may have been dark, and creepy, and she had twisted her ankles there more times than she could count, but they had one major advantage: should a monster attack, she wouldn't have to worry about a neighbor calling the police about a crazy girl with a sword. Or whatever the Mist allowed them to see. It was because of this that Xan spent a great deal of her time in the woods.
Usually alone.
Almost always at night.
The wind picked up at almost the same time as her pace, grabbing her long hair and tangling it around her. She decided to try and put up with it, because her loose ponytail had been looking great all day, such a rare occurrence, that she didn't want to take it for granted. That resolve lasted all of thirty seconds, before Xan was yanking her hair down, and tying it into a three strand braid down her back. Fingers weaving through her thick hair, her mind kept itself busy by wandering to the vision she'd just had.
The events of the dream were already fading from her memory, an annoying drawback that often came with the more accurate and helpful visions that Apollo kids had. She could dream the future earlier, more accurately, and in longer portions than most other demigods, but the full dream would only come over weeks or months. Seeing only small flashes of one particular scene that faded fast, until she had dreamt them often enough that they became clear.
Her older brother Lee had described it to her as if she were trying to sip a very hot cup of tea. The first sip, or dream, was very quick, and you could barely taste the tea over the burning pain on your tongue. But each time they dreamed of a particular moment, it would cool down in a sense, they could see more, and understand more. Until finally the tea was cool enough to take large sips at a time. Usually just when Xan could finally understand what she was being shown, the moment had already come, with no time to prepare. That only happened for her most important dreams. Some she had often, but they faded during the day, and when the moment came, she was left with a useless feeling of deja vu.
Xan hoped that she'd dream of the cliff again soon. Her stomach churned with a nagging sense that the moment she had seen was going to be critical in the next year or so, and she couldn't help but want to connect it to Luke. She tried her best to think back to what she could see, scanning for any sign of her former hero, but it was too hard to recall. Hell, she couldn't even say that she'd seen Aegis or Riptide there with any certainty. She had next to nothing.
The only thing that Xan knew for sure was the boy. He was going to be important to her, and to the future of Olympus. He had a dark aura of power, it shone through his eyes, as frightened as they were. Briefly, she wondered if he could be a new player in the Great Prophecy. Xan's more rational side brushed that off as ridiculous, it wouldn't do her any good to speculate on it now, as she'd seen so little of him. The way he had said her name, even though she could tell that this chaotic scene was their introduction to each other. Knowing her name meant that they were destined to meet.
The essence of him had already known her, and she was willing to bet that when she dreamt of him again, she would know his name too.
Having settled the issue of the boy in her mind, Xan tried to keep herself from lingering on the part of the dream that had really scared her. The edge of the cliff. Tingling ice across her shoulders and around her throat, as the weight of the hopelessness and grief she had felt came crashing back to her like the waves that she'd been watching. Xan hoped that she wouldn't be alone in that moment. Even now, wide awake, at the very least a month before, and who knows how many miles away from that cliff, a part of her wanted to plunge into the swirling snow and waves herself. Her body jerked, as if it were subconsciously trying to throw the thought from her mind entirely. Pulling at that mental thread seemed dangerous, so Xan decided the healthiest option would be to ignore it. She was ignoring a lot of things recently.
A weathered sign indicating her proximity to the preserve came into her field of vision, and she stopped abruptly in front of it. She took a deep breath, partially preparing herself to train, and partially steeling herself for the winter ahead of her. Xan knew two things for certain:
1.) That she had just spent $60 on a coat that wouldn't last the winter, let alone the 3 that she had planned on.
2.) And that whatever she had lost off of that cliff, it would completely devastate her, and fill her with a grief she hadn't felt since that night on Half-Blood Hill. When Thalia laid dying on her lap.
The last thought she allowed herself to have on the matter was that maybe she just got really attached to that jacket over the next few months. Shoving her hands into her hoodie pocket, Xan began to walk into the heart of the preserve.
She chose a path that she knew would serve as a warm up on her way to train, speeding up from a brisk walk into an eventual jog, and then to a loping run. Whenever her path was blocked by fallen trees and scrub brush, she leapt over them. Using rocks and boulders to launch herself into the air, a great opportunity to practice her landing rolls. One thing that she learned very quickly after her first quest: doing flips and jumps on the grass or cheer mats, was very different from flipping or jumping on plain concrete, with the added danger of a monster behind her.
Redness spread across her cheeks as she unwillingly remembered the way she had tried to flip away from the Kindly Ones two years prior. The bus they'd been taking out of New York had been about to explode, and she had stayed behind with Percy to provide an escape for Annabeth and Grover. As Percy took the emergency exit, she was cut off by one of the sisters.
Being the genius she was, she kicked open one of the windows, and did a back tuck off the sill. It worked to get her free from the first wave flames in time, and she felt badass for the two seconds before she landed, the flames that poured out of the empty window heating her back. That was, until she stuck the landing on pure instinct, and had to crawl the rest of the way. There's no badass way to crawl. After slowing down the group's escape, Xan learned a lesson that she would never forget, always roll through a landing, even if you get dead leaves in your hair.
She grabbed the tampons in her hands, and willed them to reveal themselves. The sanitary products were replaced with thin xiphoi, the celestial bronze glowing faintly in the night. Slowing to a jog again, she practiced swinging her blades in perfect sequence. The most effective way to fight with two blades, was to think of one as an afterimage of the other. Like Luke had once taught her, she swung with the right first, in a wide arc, and the left followed almost the exact same path, just a moment behind, so the blades would strike one after the other.
The branches that crossed overhead gave her a fun challenge, keeping her mind away from all of the hot days spent in the arena, trying to learn everything she could from him. Heart clenching at the memory of how her eyes had been filled with admiration for him, once. Both her and Annabeth were devastated by his betrayal, though Xan didn't hold out hope that he'd change. Having Thalia back again helped to ease some of that aching that he'd caused though.
She made a little game out of chopping down branches whenever she could, speeding up and adding some measured flips and leaps, until she reached a small clearing in the trees. Planting her swords into the dirt, Xan began to stretch out her muscles, preparing for a long night ahead of her. She knew she probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep again that night unless she really wore herself out.
As she began to shake out her arms, and planted her feet into a wide fighting stance, an unmistakable wolf howl rang out, shattering the still night air. Her muscles turned to stone and she stopped short, turning in the direction the sound had come from.
A soft breeze wound its way across the glen, nipping at her warm cheeks, the drops of sweat on her skin becoming ice-cold. Xan sniffed at the air, hoping to catch a whiff of smoke, or maybe the stench that accompanied a Cyclops, so she might know what danger she'd be heading towards. Getting nothing but the usual scent of trees and dirt, she wished not for the first time that she had Grover's nose. Being able to smell monsters before they caught her seemed only fair in her opinion.
Returning her swords back to her pocket, she prepared to investigate. Wiping the sweat from her face, and trying to push back the baby hairs that were intent on stabbing out her eyes. Xan did her best to creep towards the road bordering the preserve. The blanket of fallen leaves made her efforts at stealth almost useless however. Hopefully the creature that'd howled would be too scared to leave the area, and would stay away from signs of civilization. If not, at least on the paved road she could run without the danger of tripping, or slamming into a tree because she was looking over her shoulder in fear.
Breaking from the tree-line, she decided to continue all the way around the preserve, in case she found something that needed to be investigated. Eyes remained glued to her right, focusing on the shadows that surrounded the scraggly trees and brush, trying to spot anything that might be lurking there. It was hard though, she couldn't see very well in darkness.
She couldn't risk glowing either, anyone could find her like that. Manipulating her glowing skin right now would be like sending out a psychic broadcast to all monsters in the area: "Hey guys! Here I am! Come and eat me why don't you? I'm super tasty, and stupid to boot!". Avoiding becoming a late night snack was her main priority, which left her totally unprepared for the person that called her name in front of her.
Xan let out an embarrassing squeak; jumping out of her own skin. She was so shocked that she couldn't even get her hands to cooperate and draw her swords. This was for the best though, because after a few adrenaline filled seconds, she was able to realize that the terrifying monster didn't look like it should. It looked more like another one of her Ro's friends: Scott McCall.
"Holy Hera dude, you scared the shit out of me!" she whispered harshly as she got rushed at Scott, who had the mannerisms of a puppy trapped in the lanky frame of a teenage boy. And the common sense to match.
"Sorry Pippa, I thought you heard me coming," he said bashfully, making sure to look properly apologetic. It was this trait of his that often made Scott her favorite out of all of her brother's friends; he knew how to suck up to her. Also the fact that he was so clueless. It was like looking into the eyes of a helpless baby bird or something. No matter how much she may have wanted to, Xan couldn't stay annoyed with Scott for long. Stiles and Devereaux were two very different stories however, as they lacked this mysterious advantage.
"It's not entirely your fault Scotty, I probably should have been watching where I was going, given I'm on a road... in the dark," she said, brushing off his apology. Then remembering there were supposed to be three stooges, she craned her neck to search the darkness behind Scott, not being able to find Moe and Curly anywhere.
"Oh, Devereaux and Stiles got caught by the Sheriff, they should be almost home by now." he said, answering Xan's unasked question.
"And they just left you out here?" she questioned, walking the rest of the way up to him.
"Well not exactly, I just stayed hidden so that I wouldn't get caught,"
"Did they get into trouble? I'm not going to have to break Dev out of prison tomorrow, am I?"
"No, the Sheriff just sent them home, I think that Stiles got a stern lecture about listening to his dad's phone calls though," Scott said, mouth scrunching as he thought back on the events of the night.
"So there weren't any real consequences for your actions, and yet you still remained hidden from your friend's father, as he directed your other two friends to take the car and leave,"
"Yeah..." Scott trailed off, clearly not sure where the girl was going with this speech.
"Leaving you: a minor, with asthma that would impede your ability to run from an attacker by the way, in the woods. At night. The very same woods where a body has recently been discovered, which suggests murder? So you decided to stay in the woods. That could be infested with murderers, without a ride home, why? I just want to know what the thought process behind that decision was, like what could you possibly have had to gain from that?"
"Oh, that's a good point Pippa..." Scott said, trailing off awkwardly.
"Yeah, I know it is, and now you're obviously hurt, when this whole situation could have been avoided so easily," she sassed, before facing him with a gentler expression, "Come on, I dropped my backpack a little bit ahead, I usually keep some first aid supplies in there in case I fall while I'm out on a run." That was only partially true, but what Scott didn't know would keep him safe.
Scott whipped his head in her direction as she began to gently tug him up the road, "Wait, how did you know I was hurt?"
"You're bleeding through your shirt Scotty," she pointed out, even though she didn't need the growing crimson stain to sense his injury. He seemed shocked to find that she was right. She came to a stop about 30 feet down the road, where she knew a bag of supplies was stashed just a short walk into the brush. "You wait here and rest, I'll be back in like five minutes, alright?"
"Yeah, be careful," Scott replied.
"Will do," she responded, saluting him as she disappeared from his sight. Internally she cursed Scott and her brother for their short-sightedness. Still, she was grateful that she'd decided to go out tonight, and that she had hidden different bags of supplies throughout the preserve years ago, they always came through when she was in a pinch.
Xan found the one she was looking for in the bough of a very crooked tree, that she'd thoughtfully picked out, it had character, making it easy to find. Grabbing the bag, she did her best to hide the ambrosia and nectar in the bottom, below the extra change of clothes inside.
A twig snapped behind her, deeper in the trees, and after a nervous glance, she began to carefully pick her way back to where Scott was waiting for her.
"I got it, but I think I heard something. We should go to the front of the preserve, there's more light out there, and it's less secluded," she said to him.
Xan was unsure of whether to hope for a monster, that she could protect them from, or an ordinary mortal threat, which she couldn't. She had the feeling that dealing with a real wolf or murderer would be easier than trying to explain her life to Scott.
"I agree, this place is really starting to give me the creeps," Scott said, "and I guess that I should let you know, I found the other half of the body in there. It was after Stiles and Dev left me, it was terrifying."
"Scotty I'm so sorry, that must have been so horrible for you, is that how you got hurt? You didn't see who did it, did you?" Xan began to rant nervously, grabbing Scott's hand to try and comfort him.
Or herself, she wasn't too sure.
"No," he said, squeezing her hand back to reassure her, "I didn't see anyone around, and I got bitten by a wolf, I'm pretty sure. I heard it howling at least."
"I heard a howl too Scott, but I'm not sure that it was a wolf. I was reading this article in English last year about conservation in California, and they haven't been in the state for a long time. On the other hand, I'm not sure what it could be, coyotes definitely don't sound like that."
The pair walked the rest of the way in a nervous silence, their heads turning around at every shadow on the ground, jumping at every snap or rustle, and their hands intertwined so that they knew they weren't alone. When they finally reached the main entrance to the preserve, Xan guided them to a picnic table, off to the side of the small parking lot.
After helping Scott to clean his wound, and wrapping it up as best as she could, she considered praying to her dad, to help it heal faster. She decided against it though, promising that if Scott looked like he was going to die of rabies, then she would visit him in the hospital and ask for help curing him. Healing the bite as it was now would probably be too suspicious, even for someone as trusting as Scott to overlook.
"Well, that should hold you until tomorrow, I don't think that you'll bleed out anytime soon, but take the extra in case you need it."
"Thanks doc," Scott said with a cheery smile, "what did you think about it? Could it have been from a wolf?"
"Well.... if I hadn't heard the howling, I would probably brush it off as a large dog, but I just can't get that sound out of my head, I don't know what else it could be," the girl replied with a shake of her head, clearly bothered by her own lack of answers, "Maybe you can ask your boss about it?"
"Yeah, I guess I could, hopefully this doesn't affect my performance at lacrosse tryouts tomorrow," he fretted, as Xan handed him a bundle of bandages and gauze, before shouldering her pack, and leading the way back to the road.
"Oh yeah, I remember Ro was saying something about those. I know he's been working really hard to improve his placement this season, I'm sure that you have too,"
"Yeah, I'm just not sure if I've done enough, you know?"
"I know, the important part is that you don't get in your own head too much. If you need any help, come find me after school, I can make sure your bandages are all wrapped up before tryouts." She said earnestly, "Dev should know where I am, but if not, the squad will probably be warming up on the side of the field anyways."
The two had now come to the road, and began walking in the direction of Scott's house, which was closer than Xan's. Not that she would let him walk home alone anyways, she may not be able to use her swords to fight off a wolf or a serial killer, but she was at least better equipped than him to fight in the first place. And Dev would never let her forget it if one of his friend's died when she could have done something about it.
As they journeyed farther away from the woods, the two walked side by side, occasionally bumping shoulders as they joked with each other. It was probably the most that they had talked since high school had begun, and Xan found herself thinking about how happy she was that Devereaux had found such a good friend in Scott.
The preserve behind them grew smaller and smaller, but the feeling that the events of the night would be more important than they first seemed only grew. The inky darkness of the trees seemed to have wormed its way into their shadows, following them to their beds, hitchhiking along to some unknown danger.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
re: Aquarius Apocalyptic- The art for this video is off-putting, but I recommend listening anyway, it's a great song, this was just the only youtube video I could find that wasn't a live performance. Their lives are good too of course, the audio just isn't crisp enough to really do it justice...