In the clearing... {Anyone Can Join}

Justine was just about to get out of this troublesome place. It seemed like the other demigods can handle the hellhounds just fine without her help. She glanced down at her two swords and saw that they were covered in yellow monster dust. She clucked her tongue as she realized how much time she was going to spend cleaning them later. The thought brought a scowl to the girl's lips, but she was yanked out of her thoughts when a familiar male voice echoed in her head.

Watch out, behind you!

At the command, Justine quickly turned on her heel and brought her swords back into an offensive stance. She drew in a surprised gasp at the sight. As if the number of monsters wasn't enough to keep them preoccupied, two more hellhounds appeared from the darkness within the shades of the birch trees surrounding the clearing. Justine muttered a Greek curse under her breath. It didn't look like she could make her getaway now.

One of the hellhounds let out a menacing snarl loud enough to shake the trees. The monster pounced on the demigods and Justine had barely dodged just in time. She felt something rip through the sleeve of her shirt and not before long, hot liquid gushed out of the wound from a swipe of the hellhound's claws. Justine didn't dare look at her new injury even if her left arm was slowly showing signs of weakness. She was too pumped to register the pain. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she spun, holding out her blades and becoming a deadly top. The celestial bronze sliced through the hellhound's side and not a moment later it exploded in a cloud of yellow dust.

Her breathing was ragged when she managed to keep on her two feet. Justine leaned back against one of the birch trees as she tried to apply pressure on the wound. It didn't seem too deep but it stung so badly that she had trouble keeping her eyes open due to the pain. Cursing, she hid behind the tree to gather her senses. Now all she could do was pray to the gods that the other hellhound won't notice her resting there, or else she was pretty much doomed.

MEIRA SANZENIN||DEMETER||16

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Meira heard the mental note: Watch out, behind you! which she found purely cool, and mostly a red alert. Instantly, she made a whole curtain of grass pop out from the ground seven yards from the perimeter of the clearing, hugging the clearing edges. She was hoping to lure the hounds out, probably distract them. Meira put extra effort on the grass blades, and they shoot up to six feet. She also grew plants covered in thorns all around. Well, even hounds could get hurt by that.

I have to practice defense more, she thought, completely exhausted.

Meira managed to keep her thorns shooting in a fierce hope that Neth is still around, making her thorns go faster. In every breath she took, one of her plants go withered. She have to rest. A minute will be all right.

But many things can go wrong in a minute.

All together, Meira stopped her plants. She slumped back, resting. Just a minute, guys, she thought to herself. Hold on. Sorry.

Okay, I think this has gone on enough, Conrad thought. He sent out tendrils which invaded the minds of the hellhounds. Within seconds, he had completely taken over their senses and was able to control them. It took a pretty large amount of concentration, which a normal demigod would certainly not be able to do, but Conrad did have a lot of practice, and he was a powerful demigod.

He concentrated and the hellhounds sat down and fell asleep. He breathed out a sigh of relief. This had left him a little more overwhelmed than normal. The hellhounds were much harder to control than other creatures. They were the savage killing machines of the underworld. Most of them anyway. But he welcomed a challenge any day.

Then a thought struck him. There was still the third one. A third hellhound. And there it was, lurking behind the shrubs opposite him, ready to lunge at an unexpecting camper.

Neth just sat and watched this time. But when he saw Justine get hurt he started running. It all happened fast like a chain of events flying at supersonic sped. Justine gets hurt, Meira's plants die, she slumps back, Neth stops... His sibling or this evil girl?
"Sorry Meira..." he wispered and dashed at Justine, then the hellhounds fell asleep damn he thought because he liked the action. Then he saw it. A stray, third hellhound, lurking behind the shadows...
"Angel shoot an arrow with a wooden shaft at my head!" Neth exclaimed. And Angel didn't hesitate... He ducked, and just like with the thorns as soon as it went over his head he willed it to go faster until a blur struck the hellhound and, although he didn't see it, he knew it exploded into dust, but he didn't care. He ran to Justine and kneeled by her. She was bleeding from her arm but it wasnt too deep. He made a blade of grass grow about 2 feet long, it twirled around then he made the tip turn into a super smooth wooden needle, to prevent splinters, then he started threading it into the wound, he turned the grass into a rope like material exept small like thread, then after it was all stitched he broke the thread and threw the needle away... Did I mention he did this whole thing without using his hands? Yeah ok.
"I'm sorry, I know that hurt. But I'm not done. Meira! Can you summon me a herb that will help with this?" He turned to Meira, "You see Meira, I don't know about you, but in order for me to summon a plant I have to know what it looks like... Kinda part of the reason I like going to areas with lots of plants. Never know if I'll see a new, helpful plant. Anyway summon one if you can, over here by me. Conrad, Angel can you two go to camp and bring back some ambrosia or nectar? What I'm doing won't be good for long term treatment, we need ambrosia and nectar helps."

Justine winced and bit back a groan as the boy started to treat her wound. Oh, and know how it felt? It. Hurt. Like. Hell. Her eyes were squeezed shut by now, even moist with hot tears. She chanced a glance at her wound but she didn't dare look any more than two seconds. Blood was leaking out and blades of grass that acted like a makeshift thread were used to sew her skin together. The sight made her feel sick and she thought she might throw up at any moment.

But wait, wasn't the boy the one who encased her wrist in wood earlier? No doubt it was him. That gave Justine a distraction, something else to think about. Okay, so he attacked her, and now he was trying to heal her? She thought he really needed to make up his mind. Did he consider her as an enemy or a friend? Her skin was already pale, maybe from the loss of blood, and she felt weak. She struggled to open her eyes though, averting her gaze from the disgusting wound, and stared at the boy's face. Her eyes asked what her lips couldn't say.

Why are you doing this?

Neth caught her eyes and got the message...
"Earlier I encased you by reflex. I was, and still am, jumpy. I knew monsters where here. I'm sorry about that. And your a fellow Demigod. Related to me, not closely, but still. And I'm probably the best healer here too. What would I look like if you died from this? A jerk. And a murderer. No you are going to hang in there. You are NOT going to die. Not if I'm near you. No scratch that. You're not dieing... At all."

Stop being so paranoid. It's only a minor wound, Justine thought with slight amusement. She would've spoken the words out loud, if only she wasn't so distracted by her wound. Anyway if she tried to open her mouth she wouldn't be speaking coherently anyway. And she'd be too busy cursing this pain. She'll be keeping her mouth shut then, thank you. Besides, she had another reliable form of communication. The daughter of Phobos had always been good at communicating through her eyes alone.

Justine looked at the boy with minor amusement, a little touched by his speech. She also wanted to laugh at how paranoid the boy seemed. Maybe he didn't seem so bad. It was quite funny how part of the reason why he wanted to help her was because he didn't want to look like a jerk. She suddenly remembered how rude she acted earlier too, by walking out on him. Well, she was mad, but the boy apologized. She reckoned she should too. Yeah, okay. Sorry for walking out too.

It wasn't much of an apology, seeing that Justine didn't even know if the boy got her message, but it wasn't as if she could say the words at her current condition, could she?

Neth didn't get the message... In fact he averted his eyes. Everyone was watching and he kept looking into her dark, navy blue eyes... No the others would think he liked her. It would be awkward. Besides if he kept eye contact instead of watching the woods, that's where he averted his eyes to, another hellhound might swell jump out and kill him right infront of her. Infront of her? His sibling too. And Conrad and Angel. Dang... Now I have mixed feelings. Stay strong. Don't show weakness. You stupid boy. He replayed that message his dad told him over and over. Love, that I azure you, isn't what he needs. He even feels stupid for letting that emotion creep in. No. She obviously didn't feel the same way, what with walking away rudely, and plus he's hurting her. NO! Don't be stupid.

MEIRA SANZENIN||DEMETER||16

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Meira watched this scene. Watched as Neth ran into the hurt girl. Watched as the hell hounds became killing machine... that obviously they are. Meira heard Neth's words. His voice saying to her 'sorry,' his voice mouthing a request: Summon me an herb.

Meira's mind was torn in disbelief, anger, pain, weariness. But she nodded, and thrust her hands out. In this tree, in this environment, Meira can almost sense anything. She knew where exactly is Neth and the girl was, and even the last--hopefully--hellhound roaming around her grass blades. She made an herb plant grow in the place of Neth, and then jumped of the tree.

Might as well help them out, she thought as she unsheathed her dagger and ran to them.

Meira gasped as she noticed the hurt girl. "Gods, are you okay?!" she exclaimed, clearly horrified.

Conrad watched all this without saying anything. It was only until the boy, Neth's speech that his lips curved slightly into an amused smile. He then walked towards them and bent down, passing Neth a small bottle containing a cordial of nectar, to put on Justine's wound, since she seemed unable to apply it herself. A few drops would be able to stop the pain and bleeding entirely.

"Just one drop on the wound at a time. Any more it'll start inflaming." He warned, watching carefully. The vial was very small and handy. You could fit it into one hand well concealed. Many would be skeptical whether the amount of nectar it seemed to contain would do any good to a demigod, but if you tried consuming the entire thing, you'd most likely combust immediately. He had found a way to concentrate the god-food so intensely that it was just on the brink of solidifying. Consuming half the bottle would be like drinking 5 litres of the actual nectar.

"It will stop the bleeding and infection that will most likely be caused by that blade of grass," Conrad explained dryly.

Neth glared at him. Did he know how easily he could just... Nevermind. Forget the thought. Neth took the flask and with a wave of his hand, the stitches undid themselves. Then he gently dropped nectar on the wound. One drop cleared the smaller cuts. A second stopped the bleeding. A third and it looked days old. A fourth and it was gone. He simultaneously made a vine grow and take the flask and hand it to Conrad while he walked over to Meira.
"Are you ok, Meira?" Nethaniel asked, kneeling down. She was obviously tired. Neth was on the verge of it...

Justine felt stupid lying there like a damsel in distress. She was better than this. Why did she have to be cut up by that stupid hellhound? She took a few deep breaths to collect herself as she sat up straighter, still leaning on the rough tree trunk. Her head was clearer now, thanks to the nectar, and her wound looked like it had never been there in the first place. Glancing at her arm, she noted that the only reminder left of her injury was her ripped sleeve.

"Thank you," Justine managed to say in a stoic voice. There was a ring of truth to her words, that she was sincere in her gratitude. "And I'm sorry for any inconvenience I might have caused." There, she wasn't stubborn enough to not apologize for her faults. She gripped the handles of her twin swords as she stood up and looked at the boy who was capable of sending telepathic messages. She needed to address something first before she offered any medical help to the others.

"Are there more?"

I walked through the forest, enjoying the time to myself, and just being able to be in nature. Trainging had been hectic and stressful, and it was nice to just get away. He liked the way the forest was peaceful, and he listened to the sounds of the animals, and the birds. His feet padded softly on the mossy floor, and the occasional crack of a stick. In the distance, he heard voices and he was following them to see what was going on.

MEIRA SANZENIN||DEMETER||16

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Meira shook her head, dazed. She looked up at Neth, and replied absently, "I'm fine, don't worry." She then smiled at him reassuringly. Meira sensed the surroundings in reflex of the girl's question. Are there more? she asked. As far as Meira could tell, the last hell hound in her grass blades had retreated.

"No, the last one's backed out," Meira replied. She closed her eyes, drowned in her thoughts. Everyone was okay. Nothing to worry about but a mystery.

"How did hell hounds get inside the borders?" Meira blurted out. This had bothered her, and she was sure the others as well. A new enemy? No monster can enter the borders without someone inside summoning it. Kronos plotting against them? Should they tell Dionysus about this? Or kept a secret? Meira's mind buzzed with unanswered questions.

But then, she sensed something. Footsteps. Toward them. She turned to warn the others, especially to the one who was able to send messages in minds with one question: "Who's that?" Meira hope it was't another catastrophe.

Neth turned to where Meira was looking.
"Hello..." Neth said to the new face. 'Another person...? Really?' Neth thought to himself.

Conrad slipped the vial into his pocket and shrugged, "Probably. They seem to be shadow-traveling around, but no more is appearing. Currently."

He then turned, feeling a mind approach, to see another demigod walk towards the. The others seemed to have met him before, he hadn't. At least not face to face. A closer look told him that the newcomer was from cabin 7. No wonder. He never thought much of Apollo kids. Most of them were just show-offs with nothing to actually show-off. Perhaps this would be an exception, he thought lazily, but I don't really care.

((Neth, PrinceJovan's rping as his character Falcon King, not Jovan Smith. He's using yellow after all.))

Justine pursed her lips and looked at the Demeter girl. "The forest is the only place in camp that's filled with live monsters. That's why it's advised that you come here armed or with someone else."

Hence my warning, she thought, remembering the time when she called to them as she polished her swords. Speaking of her swords, she heaved a sigh as she saw them coated with monster remains. She placed them back in the sheaths hanging on both sides of her waist. She didn't dare turn them back to harmless-looking clips for she wasn't sure if danger had truly passed. Justine glanced at the newcomer, acknowledging him with a small nod.

Justine's eyes shifted to the shadows on the forest floor, considering the telepathy boy's statement. "Shadow-traveling... possibly. But why here in camp, of all places? Is someone telling them to take out their anger on demigods such as ourselves?"

I understand I'm changing the post gosh... You guys just don't understand, sorry Jovan, but I'm tired. Like... Really, really tired...

Last edited by Andalite~♏ on Tue May 08, 2012 12:51 am; edited 1 time in total

Conrad pursed his lips. "It is possible. Creatures of Hades are the only ones that can enter camp without permission. But they are here in the forest, not yet in camp. So there actually would not be any point for anyone to organise this... attack, since we know Kronos has his army down in the Labyrinth."

((We're at the book 4's phase, right? xD))

MEIRA SANZENIN||DEMETER||16

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"Now what should we do? We should go back to the camp," Meira demanded, clearly getting panicked. She was the only one panicked, and the others are calm enough. Sure, Meira had encountered monsters before, but that was long ago. Now seemed a dream... and a nightmare.

"Uh, I mean, just get away from this cursed forest," she admitted sheepishly, kind of embarrassed. Meira gripped her dagger and make the thorn in the forest ground disappear.

Conrad surveyed the scene, and decided that this was too much of a bother. Nothing had happened until they came, he thought, a little irked. No matter, they can clear up their own mess. He stood up, and walked away from the group, not towards campus, but instead further into the forest, where the thickets soon hid his form.

Justine's gaze followed the boy who vanished deeper in the woods. Smart guy. He probably knew how they seemed to attract trouble here. She should probably get going too, before another batch of hellhounds came. Or something worse. She sighed, hoping her thoughts wouldn't become reality.

After making sure both of her swords were safely sheathed, Justine looked up at the other demigods and gave them a small nod. She didn't really need words to express what she had to say. Glancing at each of them for a few seconds, she knew that her eyes already spoke her thoughts. It meant that she was thankful for their help and that she needed to be off. And with that last gesture, she retreated to the shadows opposite of where the boy disappeared to, intending to go back to camp.

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