come here, sweety [Diamond]

Pierre was honestly not listening as Daryl talked. Normally he wouldn't be so rude, but something had caught his attention...something that was making the hairs on the back of his neck crawl... Something doesn't feel right.

He gripped Daryl's arm and started to walk faster towards Thalia's pine tree. It was still a long way to go but Pierre decided it would be best if the both of them got inside the camp's magical borders as quickly as possible. He didn't know why but he knew something - or someone - was watching them and it was making him nervous. Not wanting to cause unnecessary panic, he tried to keep his voice as normal as possible. "Let's talk more inside camp, shall we? How about roasting some marshmallows with me at tonight's camp fire?"

And then he saw it.

First it was just the head that poked itself out of the cluster of trees. Its dwarf like face was sharp and ugly, with its cracked lips stretched into a sinister grin. Pierre felt as if his blood had turned to ice and he stopped cold, forgetting that he had been urgently pulling Daryl along. Beads of sweat began popping out his forehead.

A kobalos.

Then the tall grass by the trees began to rustle and dozens of short gnome like creatures inched forward, carrying curved blades that glinted wickedly. Okay. Scratch that. It was an army of kobaloi. They wore colorful pointed hats and large shoes that vaguely reminded Pierre of the dwarfs in Snow White, except these looked like they were introduced to cigarettes and steroids.

Pierre hesitated for a second then plunged his hand into his jacket, groping for Ripper's silver hilt. Nothing. He was touching nothing. He had left Ripper in the cabin!

Before he could kick himself for being the world's largest idiot, a kobaloi lunged at them, wielding its knife while screaming at the top of its lungs. Instinct kicked in and Pierre shoved Daryl away before rolling in the opposite direction.

Pierre's foot landed a solid kick in one the kobalos' stomach, sending him ten feet backwards. He heard Daryl's cry for help and immediately searched the ground for something - anything - to help him fight off the little monsters. His eyes landed on a tin can and he lunged for it, elbowing another kobalos in the face as he went. The can must have been pried open with a knife because its lid was sharp and jagged. He wrenched it off completely with his bare hand, earning a nasty cut that left his thumb and forefinger bleeding.

Straightening up he saw Daryl on her feet, with blood red claws extending from her hands. A fat kobalos was sneaking up behind her with a gruesome looking blade in its wrinkled hand. Praying he didn't hit Daryl, Pierre threw the lid like a Frisbee. It sunk right into the kobalos' forehead, drawing blood and causing the kobalos to fall back in pain. But he didn't die; the lid was just of ordinary metal. They needed Celestial Bronze.

"Daryl! We have to get inside the borders!" He shouted, making his way towards her. He kicked and punched as many kobaloi as he could but they just kept coming back and Pierre knew it was only a matter of minutes before they were overwhelmed by the creatures. "There's too many! We don't stand a chance!"

Then suddenly something was choking him. A kobalos had jumped onto his back and his long fingers were strangling his neck. Pierre flailed, trying desperately to wrench the dwarf off. The creature then stabbed the blade to his cheek and plowed it to his ear and Pierre screamed as the pain seared, like a tongue of flame licking the right side of his face. His knees gave away and he collapsed on the grass, with the kobalos still clinging on and cackling madly.

Daryl had the sunken feeling that she have to fight her way through these monsters to get to safety. She engaged into a battle, all the while fighting to calm down her panic attacks. She swung her claws solidly into one kobalos, and the monster disintegrated with a wail. She turned around madly and yelled, "YAHHH!" before forcefully thrusting three claws into the small head of a kobalos. It disintegrated, too.

The battle continued. Daryl had killed four, but more just kept coming. She heard Pierre, and she knew he was right. They had to retreat to the safety of camp. "Let's go!" she yelled as she slowly backed away, her blood red claws raised in defense.

But then, she heard another strangled yell and saw Pierre downed by a nasty kobalos. Daryl forgot about retreating. Pierre was her brother, okay? She wouldn't let him get hurt in front of her... much less die.

"Pierre!" she shouted as she kicked one monster away some five feet. She grabbed the kobalos who got Pierre by the hat and swung her claws into it. She hissed like an enraged cat, and the monster disintegrated.

The daughter of Aphrodite deactivated her claws to get a hold of Pierre. "Are you okay?" Then Daryl saw the blood behind his ears. Daryl's face darkened. "Gods, Pierre, I'm so sorry... You're hurt..." By this time, Daryl's face darkened and she lowered her voice into a whisper. But it still, her voice cracked. "I'll make a way for you, then run."