Not a Date {PhoenixSapphire}

Adin was slightly unsure as she walked towards the edge of the forest. Her dog Rocky trailed along her wake. While Rocky seemed excited about the whole thing, Adin was slightly scared by the forest. Weren't monsters supposed to be in there? Adin made sure she had her golden bracelet--her weapon in disguise. Who knows what they would encounter?

Finally the two made it, and Adin made out Chris's figure standing by the forest's edge. He seemed to be playing on his watch--Adin vaguely wondered what the game was. She quickened her pace and pulled on Rocky's leash. Rocky broke free of Adin's hold and bounded towards Chris, sniffing him and jumping on him from all sides. Excited dog, Adin thought as she neared them.

"Hi," Adin said with a wave. "Um... I'm claimed, by the way. My dad's Apollo," she added, unconsciously running a hand down her hair.

((OOC: The RP with Tony from a while back took place the morning before this :D ))

"Yeah, I suppose," Adin said, smiling widely. She threw a glance at Rocky, who seemed as hyper as ever. It was hard to believe that it was in a life-threatening situation just a few hours earlier. Adin decided not to mention that little thing to Chris. She picked up Rocky's leash and tightened her hold on it. "So... should we go in?" Adin asked, throwing a tentative look at the forest.

Oh gods. What now? Adin thought frantically. What was she going to say? Tell the story about the wolves? Or lie? Adin cringed at the thought. She really hated lying. It was probably a thing of the children of the god of truth, Adin assumed. And she knew that dodging the question would just make Chris suspicious. Also, she believed that leaving out some things counted as lying too. Rocky could even sense her discomfort as it began licking her hand to reassure her. Adin took a huge breath before answering.

"Er-not-really-good-because-of-the-wolves-thing," she said softly and quickly without drawing a breath. Hoping that Chris didn't understand that and wouldn't ask, Adin smiled warmly and spoke in a slightly louder voice. "I got claimed this morning, so it's all nice in the end. So how was your day?"

Adin shrugged. "Walk Rocky? Or something?" she said, uncertain. Rocky was sniffing everything in sight--trees, plants, and even rocks. Adin had to pull on its leash when it got particularly interested in a stray tree root. "There aren't... monsters in here, are there?" she said quietly, looking up.

Adin could sense the little fear in Chris's words. "Yeah, let's," she agreed immediately, pulling Rocky away from the forest's depths. But the dog was insistent and was truly fascinated by the place, so he put up a great fight against Adin's hold. Unfortunately, the strength of the retriever was too much for the girl, and it broke free of the leash and bounded towards the deeper part of the forest.

"Rocky!" Adin shouted, but she was only met by silence. She turned to Chris, slightly scared. "I have to go after him," she said quietly, and without waiting for Chris's reaction, ran as fast as she could in the direction Rocky took.

Rocky was out of sight. Adin frantically looked around for any sign of the dog, but it seemed to have vanished without a trace. She peeked behind trees and bushes, but Rocky wasn't there. She was about to lose hope when she heard a barking in the distance. Adin stood on tiptoes, trying to look for the source of the sound. The barks got louder, and pretty soon, Rocky leapt out of the bushes and stood protectively in front of her. Before she could fathom the reason why Rocky acted this way, Adin's mouth dropped open as something emerged from where Rocky came from.

A dark shadow of a huge dog: a hellhound.

Adin was feeling some kind of deja vu. But instead of running, she was slightly paralyzed by the hellhound in front of her. It looked just like the dog that chased her before. Rocky nudged her feet, snapping her out of it. Adin watched Chris slam his hammer on the monster, bashing it on the skull. She had to do something. Wordlessly she fumbled with her bracelet, taking it off after a few seconds. The bow and the quiver with two arrows materialized in her hands. She slung the quiver around her body and notched an arrow. She was trembling as she let go of the bowstring. Adin was aiming for the beast's eye, but the arrow hit its nose instead. The hellhound howled in pain.

The hellhound seemed to be focusing all its attention on Chris, the visible threat. That gave Adin some kind of advantage. With this in mind, Adin loaded her bow with the single arrow in her quiver. She had one shot. She hoped it would count. Adin let go of the string.

The arrow sliced through the air and lodged in one of the monster's eyes. Black blood started to gush down its face. Confused and hit more than once with a hammer and arrows, the hellhound collapsed to the ground. With one last howl, the beast turned into nothing else but golden ash. Adin breathed a sigh of relief as she sank down on her knees.

Adin rushed to Chris's aid. She nearly gagged at the sight of the blood covering his head. She had to heal him somehow, but Adin didn't really know how. The prayer thing she did earlier with Tony...she couldn't remember how to do it. It seemed that the healing thing before was some sort of guidance from her father--basically a one-time thing. Maybe a gift as he claimed her? But Adin didn't have the time to ponder on that.

She pulled out a square of ambrosia she kept in her pocket. She got it from her trip to the infirmary earlier that day. "Chris... sit down," Adin said gently as she guided him to a sitting position. "Here, eat this," she said as she held the ambrosia close to his mouth.

Adin breathed a sigh of relief, but she wasn't done worrying yet. "Are you hurt somewhere? Broke anything? Maybe dislocated a shoulder?" she asked anxiously in a rush, but took a huge breath to calm herself down. She hadn't realized that she was already hyperventilating.

Adin felt Chris's forehead, and was pleased that he wasn't too hot or too cold. She beckoned Rocky to come closer to them and the dog obliged. "Please... please don't do that again," she told Rocky, scratching the spot below its ear. The dog looked up to her with its wide eyes. Adin turned to Chris. "Um... if you're okay enough, I think we better move..." she suggested. She was wary about the hellhound--maybe there was more of them somewhere nearby. And she didn't want to risk it.

Adin tensed when she realized that Chris's leg was broken. She started to pray randomly, like Dad help me in here or something along those lines, but no help came. Huh, seemed like Apollo wasn't in the helping mood today. Adin bit her lip, knowing full well that she couldn't support Tony's weight. Her mind wandered to the first aid classes she took a while back. What did one do in this kind of situation? Splinting, the answer came just as soon as she asked herself that question. Adin picked up a fallen branch a few steps away and pulled out a hanky. With delicate fingers and grace, Adin wrapped Chris's leg with her hanky and the branch. Once she was done, she stood up. Her work wasn't that great, but it was all she could work with.

"We have to get you to the infirmary," Adin said softly. Rocky had walked over and dropped a long branch by Adin's feet. She smiled. "Thanks, boy," she said, stroking the dog. "You can use this to help you walk," she said helpfully, offering Chris the stick and her hand.

Adin slightly became pink when she realized that Chris was staring at her. She cleared her throat. "Well, seeing you can move now, we better go," Adin said, starting to walk beside Chris as Rocky padded along her heels.