Back into the forest (Charity)

Jon's dream last night had been very different from the ones he normally had. Normally, he could tell his father was trying to contact him, but there were never any words, just anger. This dream seemed more like he was far away, watching. He watched the ferryman sail on a black, polluted river, guiding images, empty shells of people away from the gates. Something felt wrong. He didn't know how, but he could tell this ferryman was not Charon... but it was his father. The dream ended there, and since awakening, Jon has lied on the forest floor thinking about the dream. What did it mean? Why had his father taken that form? Was it actually happening somewhere? Lost in thought, Jon didn't realize a girl walking through the forest until she stepped on a twig, stirring him from his thoughts a he sat up, looking over at her. "Oh, hello" he said, sitting up a little more straight.

"Uh, no not really," Jon replied. He figured it was probably for the best that he snapped out of it. "Sorry," he continued, "I tend to space out a lot." He pushed himself up onto his feet and stood, leaning on the tree behind him for support. He felt like he's just woken up.

"Just a dream," Jon answered, not really wanting to say more. This was the first dream about his father he had had since being claimed. Was he finally not angry? Was he so sick that he was actually proud of what Jon had done before getting claimed? Jon sighed to himself, clenching his hand into a fist.

She was right, Jon thought to himself, she does space out. he decided not to say anything and kicked gently off of the tree he was leaning on, walking over and extending his hand for a handshake. "I'm Jon, by the way," he said, trying to sound friendly. She seemed like something was bothering her, but he figured she wouldn't want to talk about it. Or at least he wouldn't if he were in her shoes.

Awkward, Jon thought, his hand still reached out. He just chuckled a bit and lowered his hand back to his side. "Nice to meet you, Ali," he said. He raised an eyebrow slightly as he noticed her looking at him, but decided to dismiss it. "So what are you doing out here in the forest?"

"Ah, are you a musician?" Jon knew the answer was obvious, but he was just trying to make conversation. Probably a stupid way to do so, he thought. Oh well, he figured. Better than talking about his dream.

Jon noticed Ali moving her fingers as if playing a guitar. "Let me hear it," he said grinning. As the air around them grew thick and dark, a guitar, just like the one she owned, formed in Ali's hands. Jon leaned back up against the tree, satisfied with his creation as he slid his hands into his pockets, still grinning as he waited for her to play.

Jon looked at Ali with amazement at how good she was. There was no doubt in his mind that her parent was either Apollo or a muse. "Wow," he said quietly when she finished. He started to feel a little dizzy, letting the guitar flicker away from existence. "That was amazing."

Jon let out a small laugh. "Well, it came from your mind. I can only make things that people are familiar with. Not for long though, it's a bit exhausting..." He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "I think I can keep it up for one more song. Wanna play again?"

"Sure thing," Jon said, smiling. With a quick glance into Ali's mind, a guitar matching her exact desires formed in her hands. Despite not being plugged in, the guitar would make the exact sound she wanted. "Enjoy," he said, only slightly dizzy at the moment. He hoped he could keep it formed for the full song.

Jon focused solely on the music, trying hard to maintain the guitar. Ali really seemed to be enjoying it, he would hate to have it vanish half the way through the song. It may not be his taste in music, but he had to admit she was amazing at it. With a sigh of relief that she finished the song, he let the guitar flicker away, his knees buckling, almost causing him to collapse onto the ground. "You're really good," he said almost silently. "Where do you find the time to practice?"

"You most certainly can play guitar," Jon replied with a grin. He let himself slide down to the ground, sitting on the grass with his back leaning on the tree behind him. He still felt dizzy and exhausted, but he managed to look up at Ali and tried his hardest to hide how tired he was. "So," he said, "you write songs too?"

Jon's eyes widened as he saw Ali take the Ipod out of her pocket. "Um, was it not explained to you not to use electric things? They can track us with them, you know." Jon's hand moved over to his sword, gripping the hilt tightly.