Sunlight Dies A Little Every Winter, Before Coming Back As Beautiful As Before After [Saph <3]

“

Raziel leaned against the rough bark, her legs tightly gripping the branch she was on to keep from falling off. She dug her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket, keeping them safe from the winter air. Being a daughter of Hyperion, she wasn't particularly inclined to the cold, forcing her to wear clothes that completely covered her up. Raziel had ditched her shorts and Vans for a pair of warm tights and knee-length boots. It had made climbing the tree a little bit harder but nonetheless she managed it, grumbling about how she couldn't stay at the Hera cabin because a group of kids were being too loud and woke her up. Now she was up in one of her favorite trees in the forest, chilling among the leafless branches to blow off some steam. And maybe even take another nap while she was at it.

No sooner had she begun to doze off when her ears picked up the faint sound of footsteps nearby. Curiously, she let her head dip slightly to the side. Some blonde girl was taking a stroll below and if she had to guess, Raziel was prepared to bet that the girl was lost. Great. She should probably help her find her way, but to tell the truth, the demititan was not in the most helpful of moods at the moment. Actually, the fact that she had been disturbed just when she was about to get a good dose of sleep didn't bode well with her, and Raz was this close to throwing fire balls at the person just to scare her away. But wait, she could be more creative than that, right?

Smirking to herself, Raziel broke off one of the smaller branches a foot above her and took aim. The branch flew across the air but instead of hitting the girl, it flew in a high arc above her and poked a German shepherd-sized scorpion in the eye. Another branch followed, but this time, the scorpion swatted it away with its poison-tipped tail. Enraged, the monster clicked its pincers and looked around for the source of the branches, only to catch sight of the innocent blonde girl. Smirking, Raziel watched as it tensed up and charged at her, just like she had planned.

Well, she thought, feeling the drowsiness fade away to give room for excitement, nothing better than live entertainment.

“

Raziel raised her eyebrows, impressed, as one of the scorpion's pincers fell to the snow-covered ground. The girl was an able swordfighter, no doubt about that. Well, it had to take some sort of skill to cut off a pincer in just a short amount of time, right? Still, it didn't quite provide the show Raz wanted, and because of that, she took another two branches and chucked them at another scorpion she spied snoozing nearby.

The over-sized arachnid didn't take well to having its nap cut short. Emitting a furious screech, it launched itself at the first moving objects it had seen - the blonde girl barely holding her own against its friend.

Raziel allowed a small smirk to form on her lips. Lesson learned: never ever wake a monster up. And know what? Raz was a monster.

“

Whoopsie, Raziel thought, recoiling a little as the blonde girl took a tumble. It looked like she overestimated her abilities. The scorpions advanced menacingly towards the girl, clicking their pincers angrily. If she wasn't going to do anything soon, the demigod was going to end up as scorpion lunch.

Heaving a sigh, Raziel quickly snapped on her bracelet and necklace. The familiar black-and-gold bow appeared on her hands at the same time the arrow-filled quiver did around her body. Leaning forward slightly, she notched an arrow but not before igniting the celestial bronze tip with a little bit of fire. While this would've been impossible without gasoline, Raz had focused enough of her energy to keep the tip and only the tip aflame. Before she could lose control of the flames, Raziel fired at the juncture that connected the scorpion's claw to its body. As the arrow found its mark, two more arrows hit the other's remaining pincers. Before the scorpions could realize what hit them, Raziel took a deep breath and focused. Burn.

The two scorpions burst into flame, turning into columns of red-hot fire. The warmth was enough to melt off the surrounding snow within a meter-radius from the flames and it was hot enough that Raziel, from a few feet above, could feel her skin tingle at the sudden rise in temperature. But that little stunt didn't leave her unharmed. Raziel had to double her grip on the branch to avoid falling as she felt a considerable drop in her energy levels. With her breaths coming in quick gasps, she looked down at the fire that was now losing power due to the lack of things it could consume. She supposed it was lucky that the trees weren't near enough to catch fire. Should the flames grow into a massive forest fire, Raziel would've been powerless to stop it.

Still in the process of regaining her composure, Raziel smirked as she flipped her dip dyed brown hair out of her eyes. She glanced at the blackened monster remains still ablaze before turning to the blonde girl. "You're welcome!" she shouted smugly, albeit a little hoarsely.

“

Raziel cocked an eyebrow at the blonde girl. Her smirk only widened at the remark. She found it amusing how the girl threw her a dirty look when she had just saved her life, but considering all the dirty looks she had received in her lifetime, Raziel was pretty much used to it. Still, for someone who had nearly been eaten by giant scorpions, the girl had some spunk to be sassing her like that. After all, it was thanks to her that she didn't have to die a grueling death... even if it was also thanks to her that she had been put into that kind of situation in the first place. Raziel opted not to mention that last part.

"Well I didn't let you die, did I?" she shot back, panting a little as her bow and quiver returned to their original forms. "Or would you rather have been eaten? You could've just said so. Would've saved me the effort to set the things on fire in the first place."

“

Whoa, someone had some big pride issues. Raziel narrowed her eyes. The way she talked and acted... well, she reminded her of someone, someone who she wished would go to the Underworld and rot there for all eternity. "Well I'm so sorry, Blondie. What were you gonna do? Sass them to death?" she sneered. So much for entertainment. The girl was giving her a headache instead. She should've just left her to her own devices. Why did she have to soften up at the last minute?

But then, Raziel remembered that the girl was lost. And she was her only ticket out of the forest. That brought the smirk back in her face.

"Aww, is Blondie lost?" she said as if speaking to a baby. Then she laughed, shaking her head as she leaned her back against the trunk. How glorious it felt to dangle the thing the girl wanted the most above her head without giving her any means to reach it. It gave Raz a bit of satisfaction to watch the girl pretend like she didn't care. "Y'know what's a bad idea? Antagonizing the only person who could get you out of here," she added with relish, snickering. She looked off to the distance and laughed harder. "Oh, looks like there are plenty more scorpions all around! Good luck with that, sweetheart."

“

Raziel let out a cold laugh. Blondie was seriously starting to get on her nerves, just like how she was getting on hers. Someone had to put this girl in her place. Before she could even realize it, Raz was already volunteering for the job. Blondie had better have some sense of direction because she wasn't getting any from the demititan right here.

"So you were going to kill the one that lost its pincer... and let the other gobble you up in the process? Awesome plan right there. Just what I'd expect from someone who had one less brain than me," she said airily, ignoring Blondie's pathetic attempt at a compromise. Intimidated, her ass. If Blondie just knew what kind of person she was talking to...

Peering through her lashes, Raziel considered the other girl thoughtfully. Aphrodite, huh? Uh, no, Blondie sounded so much better. "Your name's Aphrodite? Seriously, Blondie?" She snorted, a sly smile flickering across her face. Though she had the looks, Raz wouldn't give her the satisfaction of admitting that out loud. The girl already had an ego bigger than the nation and the daughter of Hyperion had already deemed it her job to deflate it. "Whoever gave you that name must have been pretty blind."

“

Although Raziel rarely lost confidence when it comes to the way she looked, Blondie's jibe made her self-consciously flick her light-colored locks to the side. She was bristling, not only because the girl was so full of herself, but also because she bore a striking resemblance to the girl topping her Most Hated a.k.a. go-rot-in-hell list. And the last time that person made her snap ended up with said person and a washroom on fire.

Her eyebrow twitched as she spoke with a carefully controlled voice. "Excuse me? Tch, never mind. At least I'm not a generic brainless Barbie." Raziel scoffed, resisting the urge to shoot an arrow at Blondie to shut her up. "Besides, that still doesn't change the fact that if I hadn't stepped in the time I did, well, you'd be missing a couple of limbs and body parts by now. Learn to be grateful, dumbass."

“

Raziel bit the inside of her cheek as her eyes narrowed even more. The forced 'thanks' only raised her hackles to the highest point. What a pain in the neck. "Keep your half-assed thank you's to yourself and save it for someone who actually gives a damn." Not feeling very creative anymore, Raz wished that she was just sound asleep and all of this hadn't happened. Why did Blondie have to end up in this part of the forest again? How much longer was it going to be until she left?

"Anyway, you just gave me an interesting idea."

Raziel reached for something - another branch, maybe - when her hand only managed to grope the air behind her. "Well, looks like I'm out of sticks," she remarked, not sounding too bothered about it. "I'll just have to settle with stones now. But that's too boring. Let's spice it up a bit, shall we?"

No sooner had she held up her open palm when it flared up - literally. The fire almost seemed to cackle merrily as it consumed the air, growing into roughly the size of a baseball in flames. "Hope you're good at dodgeball, Blondie," Raziel called, smirking, before flinging the fireball at the annoying blonde - hard.

“

There was a wicked glint in Raziel's eyes the moment the fireball hit, but a frown just as quickly replaced her triumphant grin. Wasn't that supposed to hurt a lot more than that? Blondie looked rather unfazed, save for her jumper. Was she a Hephaestus kid? It didn't look that way. If Raz had to guess who her godly parent was, the god of fire would've been the last thing in her list. She scowled as another alternative occurred to her. She better not be a sibling of mine...

Raziel sat up, eliciting a crack from the branch she was on. Blondie's comment implying how expensive her clothing was made her laugh. "All the better," she said. "One doesn't seem like a challenge to you, does it? Let's spice it up even more."

Brushing off the familiar - and slightly painful now - tug in her gut, Raziel flicked her ignited wrist. This time, not one, not two, but three fireballs as big and lethal as the first appeared and the daughter of Hyperion wasted no time in sending them all to the girl below.

Ha, she may be immune to the fire... but her clothes weren't.

“

Raziel couldn't suppress a laugh at Blondie's attempts to put the fire out. She rolled her eyes. "Ooh, I'm so scared," she started, leaning forward on her seat. "And what are you gonna do" -

Crack.

And just as Raziel realized what was going to happen, the branch she was sitting on split. Bad news, considering that she was about eight feet up the tree. Luckily, there was another considerably strong-looking branch a few feet underneath to catch her fall. Unfortunately, Raz discovered that it wasn't the most graceful of landings. With her eyes watering and her face contorting into one of pain, Raziel temporarily forgot about her company and began shooting off curses both in Ancient Greek and English. Was this how men felt like when they were kicked in the nuts? Damn, karma hit hard.

As her eyes squeezed shut as she bent over in an effort to make the pain go away, Raziel didn't even notice that she was low enough to be in arm's reach, which was probably a dangerous thing considering that a person she tried to set on fire was only a few yards away.

“

Raziel was still recovering from her fall when Blondie yanked her hair, coaxing out a half-yell from the demititan. Ouch. She clenched her teeth to stifle the sound that fought its way out of her throat. She wasn't going to give Blondie the satisfaction of winning. Despite the pain she had been put through, Raziel had no intention of backing down.

"Trust me when I say this, demigod," Raziel seethed, her voice cutting the air in a sharp whisper. A warning light went off in her brain but with the fury and the adrenaline coursing through his veins, she found it easy to shrug it off. She might kill herself doing this but at the moment, she didn't care. The daughter of Hyperion was not going to sit still and let Blondie slap her to death. Green eyes blazing, Raziel glared up at the girl and mustered up the nerve to force her lips into a tight smile.

"You're no match for the powers of a titan."

And with that, Raziel's fists caught fire and she threw a punch at Blondie's face.

“

The adrenaline rush wore off as soon as Blondie fretted about her singed off eyebrows and broken nose. Raziel could only wish that it kept up for a few minutes longer. The flames died down, her sleeves now sporting blackened ends as about five inches of her leather jacket had completely burnt off. But that was the least of her worries.

Raziel's breaths came in quick and ragged as exhaustion took hold and with it, pain. And pain was everywhere. Her head pounded, her legs stung, and heck, even her knuckles felt sore - broken, most likely. But that was nothing compared to the flames that had licked their way through her veins. Poisonous flames that sent spasms with every heartbeat, making her tremble so much that she finally lost her balance.

She fell on her side, the snow luckily cushioning her fall. Ironic how her least favorite season had practically saved her life.

So... much... hurt... Was Blondie even worth this kind of pain? Was it worth it to break herself apart just to put some chick in her place? Raz couldn't answer. Heck, she couldn't even think straight anymore. Darkness crept into her vision like little ants that overwhelmed her eyes and she felt herself drifting away...

"Oh my gods - what happened here?"

Raziel's mind was in a haze, but the familiar voice had still triggered a coherent thought. Mother of Zeus, is that Jonathan?