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twoidiotwriters1 · 2 months ago

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Almighty (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I might pause the posting a moment to write the rest because I'm falling behind sorry! -Danny Words: 2,589 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Four' -by The Wrecks

XX: This Is Not Very Yeehaw of You

Percy and Lily knock on her bedroom door while she's packing. "Oh, cool," Ara mumbles. "I'm totally not worried that you two want to talk to me in private..."

Percy leaves the door ajar. "You got time?"

"Well, Leo is taking a nap in his cabin, Calypso is down the hall, also sleeping, and Lester is packing his stuff, so..."

Both teens come closer. Lily folds clothes into rolls and squares and hands them over to Percy, who tries to pack them neatly in Ara's bag. While they're at it, Lily starts talking. "We just came to ask what our instructions are this time..."

The way things happen is never ideal, but Lily is starting to realize planning does not warrant an easy journey, unexpected events are going to thwart their lives on the regular and she's come to terms with it. Ara not so much, she was hoping that getting Leo back would equal some peace of mind, but now they're packing up for another world-changing quest.

"Percy has no instructions other than to mind his business, I'm sure Annabeth will get him through. As for camp... You and Malcolm can work with Nyssa to rebuild the Pavilion and the docks. If we're lucky I'll be back before summer."

Percy and Lily share a look. "What about Calypso?" Lily asks.

"She's coming with us, so no need to worry about her," Ara sighs. "Personally, I don't think she'll help much, but I understand why she wants to stick by Leo's side. He's the only friend she's had in a while, so to be on a quest with him is better than alone with strangers."

"And you're okay with that?"

"I think it's time we let her do whatever she wants."

Percy hums, staring at the hoodie in his hands. "It wasn't cool that she tossed out a curse at Annabeth, but I swore I would get her out and then I never saw it through. Frustration can mess with your mind. And arai are just ill-thoughts tossed out to the open, I don't think she was expecting it to reach Annabeth like that..."

"I don't know, Percy. I can't figure her out," Ara makes a face. "She's human, but her emotions are still so godly, and gods don't think like we do. Perhaps she meant it but thought it a lesser evil—as in, we're just human, so why care about us... At least that's how Apollo feels."

Lily scoffs. "And you still want to help him?"

"I'll be helping us in the process. And what else am I good for, really? Hestia tried to tell me before, a soldier always finds ways to stay on their feet. I think that's not how it should be worded, more like, a soldier is always more comfortable while on their feet."

Percy shrugs. "But it doesn't have to go hand in hand with war."

"Maybe the gods wouldn't care if you decided to sit this one out, Queen B," Lily tries. "It's not like you don't have things to do around here."

"And trust Apollo will do what's right?" She raises a brow. "Plus, Leo can't sit this one out, Lester needs Festus. And I'm not letting Leo get away from me if I can help it."

"That, I can totally relate to," Percy sighs, leaving the hoodie on the bed. "No offense to Leo, but sometimes I wish you hadn't ever gotten a boyfriend."

"Same," Lily mutters grumpily.

"Hey, you'll go away with Annabeth come the summer," Ara reminds him. "So we're parting ways no matter what. And you, Lily, have Connor."

Lily stares at the board near the dresser with a scowl, probably going through all the multiple ways this is bound to go wrong. "Everyone is going places..."

Percy rubs the back of his neck, getting a little defensive. "Just for a while, but you'll be coming to New Rome for college too, once you're eighteen. It'll be fine."

"True," Lily sighs. "If we get through this."

Ara lowers her eyes to keep on packing. "I guess... Yeah."

"You've got a lot to get done all around the country, the future is a blur," Lily pulls out the Aphrodite figurine from her pocket and hands it to her. "For my peace of mind."

"Is it blessed?" The girl takes it.

"Please," Lily rolls her eyes. "Like you need more of those. No, that's... so you remember you've got people here that want to see you come home in one piece. Even if things don't go as planned."

Ara hugs her tightly. "I know you have this urgent need to get out... Just now I'm realizing that you've been in camp for so long... staying was your way of showing faith in what I do. I can't thank you enough."

Lily buries her face on Ara's shoulder. "I wish you would've realized that sooner."

"Me too." Ara sniffs, holding the girl by the shoulders. "I can't promise it'll be you and me until the end, but laurel wreaths and godly blessings hold no candles to the honor of being your best friend."

Lily hugs her again. "Shut up. I love you too."

Percy takes a moment to talk to Ara by the seashore. "So... I talked to Calypso."

"How'd that go?" Ara hums, scratching Mrs O'Leary's ear.

"There were apologies, some awkward laughs... Leo was there to make sure no one would get strangled," He says sarcastically, scratching Pollo's chin.

"And you feel better now?"

"Better isn't the right word," Percy makes a face. "I don't think we'll ever be friends, not like Leo and her, but... only time will tell."

"Did she say anything about me?"

Her brother raises a brow. "About what?"

The girl shrugs, avoiding his eyes. "Dunno. Anything..."

"Anything about... you and Leo?" He asks knowingly.

"Did she say anything about that?"

"Even if she wanted to, Leo was there, and she's already looking bad for cursing one girlfriend, I don't think she's interested in trying her luck with Leo. He's deeply radical about his way of handling the people who hate you."

Ara snorts. "You don't know him enough to say that."

"I know him," Percy states with utter certainty. "He's just like you."

"This feels too personal so I'm pressing skip," Ara pokes his shoulder. "Skip."

Percy smiles, then changes the subject. "Do you wanna go home to tell Mom and Dad what's gonna happen?"

"We don't do that," Ara pauses. "Unless you think I should?"

"I know you'll come back," Percy brushes it aside. "It's just... All your winter clothes are home—"

"Percy."

"You could take some snacks too, blue cookies, gummy sharks..."

"Tell me the truth."

"I... wanted you to see me graduate, and be there for Estelle's birth," Percy gives in. "And we both know this quest isn't going to solve itself over one weekend. The Triumvirate is the source of literally all of our past issues, it could take years to bring them down."

"Everyone keeps listing all the bad things I already know about this journey," Ara reaches for his hand. "I would like my brother to find something else to say so I don't leave completely bummed out."

Percy looks a bit ashamed. "Well... this quest might be the quest, you know? Every child of Olympus has a story of when they were at the peak of success, power, and youth. That's going to be you this time, so... go make history."

"Now that's more like it," Ara smiles. "If it makes you feel better, Nemo, I'm certain this is what I must do. There was only one path to follow on this, and that means it's going to work out no matter what."

It's hard to part ways with Percy, not just for the life-threatening quest, but knowing that if she can't come back before June, they'll never be together again. He'll be there at every holiday and birthday, but it won't be the same. It'll never be as it was at thirteen and eleven years old.

"I'm going to miss you," she whispers, leaving out 'the rest of my life', but Percy hears it in the quivering of her voice anyway.

"Only at times," he retorts, hugging her tightly.

Since the Pavilion got smashed to bits, she's allowed to eat with the rest of the campers for the first time in forever. Ara, Leo, Calypso, and Apollo share a blanket, Ara is trying to get used to this combination of people because it's the only company she'll have for a while.

Festus walks around the cabins hiccuping balls of fire at random times—the reason why Leo doesn't allow her to hug the dragon yet. "He got a little dinged up in Corsica," Leo explains while they eat. "Sometimes he spews randomly like that."

"He hasn't blowtorched anyone important yet," Calypso eyes Apollo. "We'll see how he likes you."

"I had planned to go alone," Apollo says miserably. "The prophecy from Dodona speaks of the bronze fire-eater, but... it feels wrong for me to ask you to risk your lives. You have been through so much just to get here."

Calypso seems surprised by his statement. "Perhaps you have changed. That does not sound like the Apollo I remember. You definitely are not as handsome."

"I am still quite handsome. I just need to clear up this acne." He argues, his cheeks flushing.

"So you haven't completely lost your big head."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Guys," Leo sighs, "if we're going to travel together, let's try to keep it friendly." He reaches for Ara's hand. I'm talking to you too. "Besides, we were planning to head west anyway. I got to find my peeps Jason and Piper and Frank and Hazel and... well, pretty much everybody at Camp Jupiter, I guess. It'll be fun."

"Fun?" Apollo sounds exasperated. "The Oracle of Trophonius will supposedly swallow me in death and madness. Even if I survive that, my other trials will no doubt be long, harrowing, and quite possibly fatal."

"Exactly," Leo flashes him a crooked smile. "Fun. I don't know about calling the whole quest thing Apollo's trials, though. I think we should call it Leo Valdez's Victory Lap World Tour."

"Actually," Ara says. "Percy said this is my time to shine, and I'm calling pretty privilege on this thing."

"Hey, that's not—!"

"—What does that even mean?" The boys demand grumpily.

Calypso's laugh blurts out before she can stop it and she covers her mouth, looking embarrassed. Of what? Ara has no clue. Perhaps she thinks she isn't allowed to enjoy Ara's jokes because she's acted a little crazy in the past. Ara can't blame her, she's currently going crazy every month or so.

"You know, Calypso," she starts politely. "If you're coming with us, I'll make sure you're prepared."

"What do you mean?"

"You need weapons," Ara explains. "You look like a dagger girl—but also a bag with bombs and grenades has never hurt nobody... er, you know what I meant. I can train you."

"Okay," Calypso nods, slightly taken aback. "Am I... part of your army now?"

Ara tilts her head. "Great question. I suppose that depends on you. Lester is under my command because he's the son of Zeus. You, on the other hand..."

"My father was a titan, so not exactly part of Olympus..." Calypso nods pensively.

Ara shrugs. "I've got enough people to look after as it is—I'll look after you all the same as long as we're on this quest together, but uhm... it's your choice, really. Everything from now on is."

Calypso glows pink. "Oh. In that case, I... I'll be part of your army."

Ara isn't expecting that answer at all. "What? Why?"

"I want to be strong again, and if I don't have my powers, then I'll train and get better."

"Good idea, Cal," Leo smiles. "Ara's the best fighter there is, you'll learn a lot from her."

There is nothing Ara respects more than a demigod willing to take the punches just to come out stronger. She reaches for Calypso's hand and holds it firmly. "I know how it feels to be vulnerable. If you want my assistance, you'll have it."

Calypso shakes her hand with certainty. Next to them, Apollo visibly deflates, staring at their hands like it's the saddest view on earth. "Hey, man," Leo speaks, guessing as to what he's thinking. "Don't look so glum. We'll find her."

"What?" Apollo blinks.

"Your friend Meg. We'll find her. Don't worry."

The boy runs a hand over his tired expression. "Meg knows the prophecy. If she tells Nero, he will know our plans as well."

"I missed the whole Roman Empire," Calypso leans back while biting on an apple. "How bad can one emperor be?"

"Bad," Lester huffs. "And he is allied with two others. We don't know which ones, but it's safe to assume they are equally cutthroat. They've had centuries to amass fortunes, acquire property, build armies... Who knows what they are capable of?"

"Eh... We took down Gaea in, like, forty seconds. This'll be easy squeezy."

"No, Leo," Ara insists. "Gaea was a primal force that was bound to her nature, there were things she could not overcome. These guys... they haven't been sleeping, they know the world far and wide, made themselves gods, and don't have rules, nor respect for honor. It won't be a fair fight."

Leo frowns. "Nothing about me dying was exactly fair, though."

"No, but..." Ara thinks about the best way to phrase this for him. "At least Gaea tried to buy the car, these guys will break a window, try to get it to run, and if that doesn't work they'll tow it to their parking lot just to get money from reselling the radio."

Calypso and Apollo look extremely confused at her metaphor, but Leo's face shifts into full understanding. "Dang, those guys are monsters..."

"Beasts," she corrects bitterly. "It's not them we're fighting, it's their armies, and maybe, just maybe, at some point, we'll reach them."

"Ah, damn," Leo says, his southern accent gets stronger when he's stressed. "Now it don't sound as fun..."

"We'll succeed," Calypso pipes in making an effort to be optimistic. "We must. So we will. I have been trapped on an island for thousands of years. I don't know how long this mortal life will be, but I intend to live fully and without fear."

"Perhaps to ensure we can at least survive the journey, we should do a full checkup on Festus first thing tomorrow morning," Ara replies, watching as the dragon stumbles over its own paws.

"Sure thing, General," Leo smiles, happy to work with her. "As soon as Festus gets a tune-up and an oil change, we'll be good to go."

"I've got us all packed, so you two focus on resting," Ara tells Calypso and Lester.

Will Solace gets up and speaks. "Hey, everybody! We've started a bonfire in the amphitheater! Sing-along time. Come on!"

Ara and Leo make the same face. "Aw, man." He whines. "I'm terrible at sing-alongs. I always clap and do the 'Old MacDonald' sounds at the wrong time. Can we skip this?"

"I second that. I like singing, but right now I'm yearning for some peace and quiet..." Ara nods, feeling completely drained after the rollercoaster of a day she's had.

"Oh, no." Apollo declines the offer. "Singing is good for the spirits. You should never miss an opportunity to sing."

"He says that as self-promo," Ara jokes, holding Leo's hands as they get up.

Calypso grins. "Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but for once I agree with Apollo. Though you two can er... rest, if you like." The girl glances at Leo as if communicating something in silence.

"Yeah, have a good night, guys," Leo waves with his free hand. He takes a moment to enjoy Ara's proximity before talking. "Rest sounds real nice, but I'd like to talk to you in private for a sec. Can we?" He points at the beach and Ara smiles, a bunch of fond memories coming back to her.

"Lead the way."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

#twoidiots writing #pjo fanfic #leo valdez fanfic #doo #leo valdez x oc #toa fanfic

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hana-loves-bumblebees · 2 years ago

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ToA “if Lester Papadopoulos was an actual person that Zeus snatched and gave his body to Apollo” au angst prompts (free to use):

- someone who knew Lester meets Apollo in Lester’s form (bonus points if the first thing they do is run up to him & give him a big hug/kiss)

- those who knew Lester had their minds wiped and don’t remember him at all, yet there’s sometimes this feeling that something’s missing, yet they never can and never will figure out what (or who)

- or what if only SOMEONE who knew Lester realizes he’s gone and people all around them keep asking them who this Lester they’re talking about even is

- Lester being a descendant of Apollo

- Lester being a descendant of some other god

#toa #trials of apollo #lester papadopoulos #rick riordan #rick riordanverse #toa fanfic prompt #toa prompt #prompts #toa fanfic #pjoverse #pjo #pjo apollo #toa apollo #toa lester papadopoulos #if there’s a fanfic like this please let me know!!#i found one or two with lester being an actual person but nothing like this

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toasecretsanta · 2 years ago

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Family Time

Fandom: Trials of Apollo Rating: Gen Genre: Family Characters: Apollo, Nico, Will, Austin, Kayla, Jerry, Yan

After a stressful day of family arguments disguised as a council, Apollo really wanted some less stressful family time. A gift for @crystalcatgamer from @tsarinatorment using the prompts “Apollo visiting his kids” and “Apollo and Nico bonding”. Couldn’t fit the third prompt in, unfortunately! This is set in winter so it’s year-rounder campers only, and I headcanon Gracie as a summer-only, which is why she’s missing.

Campers were just beginning to peel away from their breakfast tables when Apollo strolled into camp. The winter solstice the previous day had been full of its usual family tensions and thinly veiled posturings – things Apollo only really enjoyed when he wasn’t directly involved, and in the darkest depths of the year, when he was cold and tired and maybe Artemis wasn’t completely wrong when she said he got lazy in the winter, it lost most of its entertainment factor even then. No wonder, then, that he wanted to spend the next day with his children, away from the tense politicking of Olympus.

His intention had been to spend it relaxing, but immediately he noticed something a little odd at his table.

Nico was there (not odd at all, the son of Hades frequently joined his children and was incredibly welcome to do so), but Will was not.

When Apollo thought about it, Will’s absence wasn’t completely surprising – even whilst dealing with the biannual family argument disguised as a council, Apollo had felt and responded to his son’s healing prayers as they reached him, so he was well aware that something had happened late into the previous night, although the lack of unease throughout the camp implied that nothing was concerning the demigods now.

The only question was whether Will was doing the sensible thing, or the worried healer thing, but even that was quickly deduced by Nico’s unhurried presence at his table. If Nico thought Will was doing anything remotely daft, he would be telling him so at the very least, and almost certainly attempting to stop him, so Apollo approached his table with the reassurance that Will was fine.

“Good morning,” he trilled, sliding onto the stone bench between Austin and Yan and putting an arm around each of their shoulders, reaching out to grip Kayla and Jerry’s shoulders in greeting and sending Nico an enthusiastic grin which had his future son-in-law rolling his eyes – but also the hint of a returning smile playing at the corner of his mouth, which Apollo’s keen eyes definitely spotted.

“Hi, Dad,” his kids chorused. Yan leant against his side subtly and he gave their shoulder a brief squeeze as he began with the usual questions – what had they been up to since he last saw them, anything fun or exciting? He’d been keeping as much of an eye on them as he could get away with, of course, but it was always so much better hearing about Austin’s latest youtube fame straight from his son’s mouth, or the fact that Kayla’s experimenting with bow styles outside of her mastery in recurve had her currently focusing on a specific type of horse bow (Apollo had wondered if she would ever pick one of those up, and if she did, if it would be because or in spite of the memory of a certain older brother). Jerry’s continued determination but tragic failure to convert the primarily American born-and-raised kids to the wonders of cricket always made for a riveting story, and Yan’s own strides in increasing their distance at the archery range filled Apollo with pride.

Nico, Apollo noticed as he listened to his kids’ stories, was quietly piling a plate full of food which looked suspiciously geared towards Will’s preferences. The fact that he wasn’t running off with it as soon as he was done, but rather set it to one side with a glare towards table eleven that just dared someone to try and touch it (not even Hermes’ children were that foolish), added weight to the likelihood that Will was still asleep.

Eventually, after their tales were fully regaled, his kids helpfully confirmed it for him.

“There was a new arrival late last night,” Austin told him. “Will didn’t get back to the cabin until…” he trailed off, clearly trying to remember although Apollo was pretty certain none of his children had any real sense of time when the sun was down, if they’d even stirred when Will had no doubt stumbled back into the cabin, exhausted and bleary-eyed.

“Three in the morning,” Nico finished for him. “I was the one that dragged him out once he was done,” he informed Apollo, who gave him an approving look.

“You’re good for him,” he said, not for the first time and certainly not the last, either. The Italian boy’s pale cheeks flushed slightly pink, although Nico didn’t look away or otherwise acknowledge his words.

“He’ll probably wake up soon,” his son’s boyfriend continued instead. “Seeing as for some reason he always seems to wake up at dawn, or near after it.” The accusation was pointed.

Apollo shrugged. “What can I say, it’s the best time of the day,” he said, fully supported by his four awake children who were, of course, all natural morning people.

Nico scoffed. “Just keep telling yourself that,” he retorted, and Apollo pressed a hand to his chest, swooning back in dramatic offence.

“The betrayal,” he whined, to the beautiful sound of four children laughing and a fifth snorting almost imperceptibly. “Nico di Angelo, I thought we were friends!”

“Am I supposed to be friends with my boyfriend’s dad?” Nico asked, eyebrow raised, and Apollo spluttered, remembering at the last moment that Nico might not like the reminder that he was also Apollo’s cousin in the context of the current conversation and redirecting his response into safer waters.

“Are you telling me we weren’t friends before you met my son?” he demanded instead, hand still splayed across his heart. “I don’t give just anyone a ride in my chariot, you know!”

“You would if you could.” Nico’s call-out wasn’t wrong but he didn’t need to say it. Apollo chose not to respond to the accusation, partially because that was the sort of thing he didn’t really need as more than a passing remark where certain gods might be listening.

“So, what are you all planning to do without Will to keep an eye on you?” he instead asked his children.

“Yan promised to help me get enough people for a game of cricket,” Jerry said instantly, and Apollo glanced down at the child in question, who scoffed.

“Are there enough people in camp to make a full game?” they asked, not disputing their British brother’s claim but ruthless with their logic regardless.

Jerry was undeterred. “We can adapt it,” he insisted. “Smaller teams, with less wickets…” He continued along the vein for several minutes, having clearly thought about the topic in great depth, while his siblings rolled their eyes good-naturedly. “…and Harley already agreed to make us bats, wickets, and balls!”

That got the alarmed attention of Austin, who had at some point during his youngest brother’s impassioned speech withdrawn an oboe reed (Apollo suspected it was one of Alice’s spares, left behind when she’d gone back to her mother for the school term) from one of his pockets and started absent-mindedly blowing into it. The loud squawk that erupted from it at Jerry’s proclamation earned him a punch from Kayla, who had the misfortune of having her ear a little too close.

“No,” Austin declared immediately. “Will would kill you.”

“Will’s asleep,” Jerry pointed out, with all the flawless logic of a preteen.

“And staying that way,” Nico interjected, a little forcefully. “Not being dragged out of bed to patch up everyone who gets in the vicinity of Harley’s latest death traps.”

“Cricket is a safe sport!” Jerry argued back, and Apollo sensed the potential for some injured pride and genuine sibling arguments – things he had left Olympus to escape.

“It is,” he agreed, reaching for Jerry’s shoulder once more and giving it a soft squeeze. “What your siblings and Nico are trying to say is that Harley, while a very impressive young man and inventor, has a tendency to make things that are supposed to be safe… not so safe.” He remembered the three-legged death race all too clearly.

“But camp doesn’t have all the gear,” Jerry whined, shoulders slumping dejectedly. “I’ve got Mum’s ball, but…” There was the hint of a quiver to his lower lip and Apollo was not letting that happen.

A snap of his fingers and one flash of bright light later had a pile of cricket equipment on the ground next to table seven, complete with all the safety gear Jerry had forgotten to mention. Instantly, bright brown eyes lit up in delight, and the threat of tears disappeared. “You’re the best, Dad!”

He all but launched himself from the table, rummaging through the gear until he found the brand-new ball nestled inside one of the wicket keeper’s gloves and held it aloft proudly.

“Dad,” Kayla complained, just as Jerry excitedly insisted that Yan join him and the other demigod slipped off of the bench with far less enthusiasm to get drawn into a game of catch. Jerry jammed a helmet on their head, and Apollo had to fight not to laugh at the unimpressed look on their face.

But Yan and Jerry had managed to develop a strong bond at some point while Apollo had been mortal and forcibly unaware of his children’s lives – he had later heard that the two of them had met on the way to camp, escorted by satyr guides who didn’t all make it, and that sort of shared experience usually prompted a powerful connection – so they didn’t take it off despite clearly disapproving of their younger brother’s antics.

They did, however, throw the ball a little hard and high, and smirked when Jerry let out a wail and tore down the pavilion after it. “Yaaaaaaaaan!”

Yan chuckled and reclaimed their seat next to Apollo, tugging the helmet off but keeping it in their lap.

“Cricket’s not so bad,” they shrugged at the disbelieving noise Kayla made. “Just a lot of throwing, catching, and running.”

“Archery’s better,” she grumbled, and Yan – also a fantastic archer and general marksperson – shrugged in agreement.

“It keeps him happy,” they said, which was a point she had to concede on, if rather ungracefully.

Nico muttered something under his breath which wasn’t as grumpy as the son of Hades tried to make it sound, and stood up. “I’ll go leave this where Will can grab it when he wakes up,” he said, picking up the heavily laden plate.

“I’ll come with you,” Apollo said instantly, giving the still-sitting kids another shoulder squeeze and making his own way to his feet.

It was somewhat of a surprise that Nico not only acquiesced, but also waited for him rather than walking to cabin seven by himself, and Apollo certainly didn’t waste time scrambling to join him, throwing a “be good!” over his shoulder at his awake children – Jerry had finally caught up with the ball and was hurtling back to them with it held triumphantly above his head, and Kayla’s bright hair splayed across the stone table as her forehead connected with it – despite being well aware that four demigods between the ages of twelve and fourteen left unsupervised was a recipe for chaos.

The thick curtains of cabin seven were all drawn tightly shut, a sure sign that there was an occupant either sleeping or recording a video inside. Given that the only one of his children currently in camp that wasn’t outside and causing a ruckus was not one with particularly musical proclivities, it was a clear indicator of the former – or at least, that Will was supposed to be asleep.

Neither Apollo nor Nico made a sound as they edged the door open and slipped through, but something had apparently alerted Will’s trouble’s brewing big brother senses regardless, because Apollo’s eldest in-camp child was blinking blearily as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

The blankets pooled around his waist as Will yawned, running a hand through an impressive bed-head of tangled waves. He still looked exhausted, skin a little too pale and an indication of bags threatening to form beneath his eyes, and in a wordless agreement Apollo and Nico were immediately at his bedside, the plate of food set on top of his semi-cluttered dresser and promptly ignored.

“Go back to sleep,” Nico said bluntly, gripping his boyfriend’s shoulder and pushing him back down with arms that were far stronger than their thin appearance implied.

“What time is it?” Will asked, his voice thick, as though Nico hadn’t spoken, and Apollo added his own hand to the fray as, between them, he and Nico got Will once again laying back down.

“For you, it’s sleep time,” he informed his son, and got wide blue eyes as Will registered his presence.

“Dad?”

Apollo smiled at him, pulling the covers up and tucking them under his chin as Nico hovered, ready to stop any attempts to sit up again.

“You did well last night,” he promised, fussing with the edge of the blanket until it sat just right. “But that’s no excuse to go without sleep. Camp is fine, your siblings are fine” – it was a testament to how much Nico wanted Will to continue resting that the son of Hades didn’t have any quips to make on the subject – “you are tired, and need some sleep.”

“But-” Will protested, and Apollo shushed him.

“But nothing,” he said, brushing a light hand over his son’s forehead. Messy stands of hair tried to cling to him as he did so. “Everything will be fine; I want you to stay in here for a few more hours.”

“’m not tired,” his son tried, but the fact that he hadn’t even managed to vocalise I’m at the start of the protest defeated his argument before it even started.

“You’re being an idiot,” Nico grumbled at him. The son of Hades had perched himself on Will’s bed, near his legs, and was regarding his boyfriend with dark, slightly worried, eyes. “You need some more sleep.”

“So do you,” Will pointed out, which was clearly true on a technicality because Nico, too, had been awake at three in the morning, but also the son of Hades’ sleep schedule appeared to have finally settled into something that was far more akin to frequent naps rather than a single long sleep.

As adorable as their bantering could be, right then it was starting too feel too much like the bickering that Apollo had had more than enough of at the solstice yesterday, so he cleared his throat and drew both of their attention back to him.

“A few more hours, Will,” he said gently, adding a slight pleading tone beneath the words to make it clear that, at the end of the day, it was his son’s decision – although Apollo had strong opinions on the decision he should be making.

“I’m already awake,” his son pointed out, still not sounding like the most awake demigod the world had ever seen, but with a clear point regardless – Will, like the majority of Apollo’s children and unlike his boyfriend, was not one for naps. Having woken up already, getting back to sleep would be a greater challenge than before.

“I can help with that,” Apollo offered. Will looked torn, and Nico stepped in.

“If you sleep now, you avoid the insanity of Jerry dragging the rest of the camp into his stupid game,” he said. “Apollo gave him what he needs to torment the rest of us with it.” There was a dark look sent his way, but Apollo just shrugged it off.

“They’re bickering,” he said instead of responding to the accusation. Instantly, a look of tired resignation crossed Will’s face; head counsellors did not enjoy separating bickering younger campers, especially when said campers were also their siblings. “Escape while you can.”

Responsibility and tiredness waged war across the battleground of Will’s eyes, a battle Apollo could well appreciate.

“I won’t let it escalate,” he promised, and those words seemed to be enough to have the tension draining from Will’s muscles.

“Just a couple of hours,” his son demanded. Apollo was relieved to get any agreement at all – Will had a deep well of stubbornness which he frequently drew upon, which was probably not entirely from Naomi’s side, but apparently the idea of facing his younger siblings bickering over cricket was enough to make him want to roll over and go back to sleep for a few more hours.

Apollo could certainly relate to that.

“Just a couple of hours,” he confirmed, brushing his son’s forehead one more time and this time humming the beginning chords of a lullaby. Nothing too loud or powerful – Will would benefit best from a natural sleep, which meant being simply coaxed back down rather than being forced under – but just right for a couple more hours of truly restful sleep.

“You’d better still be here,” Will mumbled suddenly as his eyes began to droop, and something in Apollo’s chest did a happy little twist.

“I plan on being here all day,” he assured him – it wasn’t a promise, he couldn’t promise something like that when Zeus might start making ominous gestures and insist he depart, but it was the closest he could truthfully get.

It was enough to bring a small smile to Will’s lips as he slipped back under again, and Apollo pressed his lips lightly to his forehead, unable to resist.

“Sleep well,” he murmured. “You deserve it.”

Part of him wanted to sit in the peace and quiet of the cabin, rather than face whatever mischief his other progeny had managed to whip up in the handful of minutes they had been left unsupervised, but not even the constant bickering of siblings was enough to put Apollo off the idea of spending as much of the day as possible with happy demigods whose biggest issue was whether or not they wanted to play a ball game.

In the shadows of the bunk, Nico’s pale face stood out starkly as he surveyed Will’s sleeping form for several long moments.

“He’s just sleeping?” he asked after a moment, voice barely above a whisper. Apollo lowered his voice to match.

“Just sleeping,” he promised – that was an easy promise to make. “He’ll wake up again in a few hours, as agreed.” He half expected Nico to make himself comfortable and settle down for the hours’-long wait, but once again the son of Hades surprised him as he slid off of the end of Will’s bed, leaving barely a wrinkle in his wake.

“He’ll get mad at me for ‘wasting’ the day looking over him,” Nico explained, apparently sensing Apollo’s faint confusion. “And I want to see how long it takes Kayla to turn that cricket ball into a pincushion.”

It was certainly a possible scenario, although Apollo hoped she wouldn’t show off her prowess quite like that – Jerry would not react well and then he would have actual fighting children on his hands. Parenting One-oh-One books tended to advise not to let that happen, especially the godly ones which were fully aware that the children involved could be rather… powerful. And destructive.

Definitely destructive.

“Please do not give her that idea,” he replied as they cautiously slipped back out of the cabin, Nico squinting at the sudden change in light levels. “She has plenty of feasible targets to try and hit in the archery range.”

“She’ll call that ball feasible,” Nico deadpanned. “You know she will.”

Nico wasn’t exactly wrong, but Apollo made a mental note to get Kayla her own supply of balls fit to be converted into pincushions so she had no excuse except pettiness to target Jerry’s new collection.

“Even more reason not to give her the idea,” he said lightly.

In the time he and Nico had been in the cabin, it appeared that the rest of his children had devolved even further into bickering – although Apollo was hopeful it remained playful bickering rather than a serious argument – over whether or not Jerry should try and get the entire camp into a game of cricket.

Kayla and Austin were firmly refusing to participate, while Yan stood steadfastly at their younger brother’s side and plucked at the grill of one of the helmets’ mouth guards. Apollo was fairly certain they didn’t actually mind the idea of playing, even though it was clearly more Jerry’s interest than their own.

Then again, Yan had already proven that their aim was as sharp with a ball as it was various other projectiles and knew they’d be a force to be reckoned with as a bowler or a batsperson.

“Is he still asleep?” Austin asked Apollo as he and Nico approached. The oboe reed had disappeared from his mouth at some point, and Apollo got the feeling that Austin was subconsciously slipping into Will’s role of eldest sibling while his own big sibling wasn’t around.

“He’s asleep,” Nico confirmed before Apollo could compose an answer. That didn’t, however, stop his mouth from running with other ideas.

“Will’s worked very hard recently,” he said, not sure if he meant just the past couple of weeks, where winter and ice provoked falls from even the most graceful demigods, or recently in the terms of a god’s reckoning, which encompassed Will’s entire life, near enough.

Not that it really mattered, though. Will deserved a break regardless, and Apollo was determined that, at least for this one morning, he would get one.

The murmur of agreeing noises was the first time since his arrival that all four awake children had been in harmony with each other. It was far more soothing than the various small bickers and snipes he’d been hearing since.

“Should we do something for him?” Austin wondered, fingers fiddling with one of the buttons on his long, soft jacket.

“He got breakfast in bed,” Kayla pointed out, although Apollo didn’t think she was actually disagreeing. “When’s the last time we got breakfast in bed?”

“But that was Nico and Dad,” Yan said. “Not us.”

“He hasn’t actually eaten it yet,” Nico muttered, but if there was one person (besides himself) that Apollo was certain was fully on board with Austin’s suggestion, it was the son of Hades. Apollo regarded the demigod in question out of the corner of his eye as his children started debating what they could do for their brother – “no, Jerry, we’re not making Will play cricket!” – and was relieved at what he saw.

Nico had been through a lot in his life. Far too much even for a grown adult nearing the end of a long and fulfilled life, and both physically and mentally he wasn’t even sixteen yet, despite what mortal records might suggest. Apollo remembered the young, sullen and betrayed child he had seen in the snow, just over four years earlier, remembered doing what he could do distract him at least for a short while from the abandonment of his sister whilst fully aware that the camp he was taking him to would not, at the time, be Nico’s salvation despite his wishes.

Not for a son of Hades, not against the stigma that had been in place for millennium. In all four thousand or so years of the camp’s existence, it had never been a safe place for children of Hades, although Apollo had tried.

To see him here, now, still standing with a group of demigods despite his main link to them being absent, interjecting in their debate and being listened to – respected, as much as a group of twelve to fourteen year olds knew how to respect someone – and all parties completely comfortable with his presence.

If Apollo was still mortal, he would have burst into tears then and there.

It was still a close-run thing, even with a sliver of godly self-control to hold them back, as he reached out for the son of Hades and gave him a brief, tight, squeeze.

Nico jumped, and fixed him with a confused glare.

“What was that for?” he demanded, interrupting Kayla’s suggestion of archery lessons.

Apollo couldn’t say what he was thinking, not without several suddenly self-conscious demigods in his midst, so he just gave Nico the biggest, brightest smile he could manage without blinding him. “I’m so happy for you,” he said, which did absolutely nothing to clear up the confusion on the Italian boy’s face.

Nico blinked at him once, twice, then shrugged and turned away. “Whatever. Kayla, are you trying to stress him out more? You know he doesn’t think he’s any good at archery.”

“A concert?” Austin suggested as his sister pouted. “I could whip up a few things for us to play… Nico, I can’t believe I’ve never asked this before, but can you play anything or would you rather sing?”

The look of stunned outrage on Nico’s face had Austin’s siblings all laughing, and even Apollo couldn’t help but smile, amused.

“Neither,” the son of Hades said firmly, and Austin’s face fell.

“Not even for Will?” he wheedled, and got a glare in return.

“Not in front of you,” Nico countered, and all of Apollo’s children pouted. There was a gleam in Austin’s eyes, however, that had Apollo wondering what idea his son had suddenly got into his head and if he should be worried about it.

Whatever it was, however, it went unspoken as Yan spoke. “We could make him something,” they suggested.

“Like what?” Kayla asked. “Best Bro Mug? He’s not Nico’s brother, though.”

“A cake!” Jerry piped up, and all of the demigods looked at each other, and then, to Apollo’s mild concern, him.

“We’re not allowed in the kitchen without supervision,” Austin said slowly.

Oh. Apollo could take a hint.

“I think a cake sounds wonderful,” he agreed, before gesturing in the direction of the Big House. “Shall we?”

The thinly-veiled concern on Chiron’s face as Apollo shepherded five demigods into the kitchen was entirely uncalled for. Dionysus simply scoffed as they passed and informed Apollo that any disasters were on his head, and Apollo beamed back at his brother, reminding him which god it was that tended to leave culinary disasters in his wake.

(So maybe Apollo had left a few. But Dionysus’ parties were legendary for a reason.)

It was only once he’d nudged all five children into washing their hands – none of them had hair long enough to need tying back, although he snapped his own from its half-up half-down manbun into a low ponytail – that he realised there was an important question that needed asking.

“Who knows how to bake a cake?”

Immediately, they all looked at each other, eyes widening a little as none of them put their hands up and said I do!

“Mum makes them all the time,” Jerry said after a moment. “It can’t be that hard.”

Genevieve Allen might have baked a lot (and Apollo remembered how delicious the outcomes had always been), but it took less than a minute into the start of the process for Apollo to realise she had never imparted any lessons on her son – or that Jerry had never paid any attention if she had.

Flour was spilt – not that anyone believed for a moment that was accidental when the victim was Nico, whose all-black aesthetic was suddenly inverted in a single incident – eggs were smashed, and Kayla seemed more interested in eating the chocolate than melting it.

Still, Apollo let the chaos continue, plucking out shards of eggshell before they could join the mixture and subtly replenishing the flour and chocolate supplies, because while it was readily apparent that none of them really knew anything about baking, they were having fun with it – despite his makeover, Nico still had a small grin on his face as he attacked the mixture with a spoon – and Apollo knew that that would be far more important to Will than the cake itself being a culinary masterpiece.

It definitely took some godly intervention (mostly in the form of Apollo prodding the five of them into doing things in approximately the correct order, rescuing more shards of eggshell, and in one particularly close call, catching the bowl when Jerry got too enthusiastic in his stirring and it almost fell to the floor), but the thing that went into the oven to make at the end of it all would at least not poison their poor brother.

Actually, Apollo had full faith that it would still be delicious. What was the use of being the god of knowledge if he didn’t know things, and he definitely knew how to bake a cake, even if for some reason no-one believed him? The steps might have been rather haphazard and chaotic, but they were still the right steps, overall in the right order.

Then he remembered that he was supposed to be supervising more than just the cake-making process, and that the kitchen looked like a warzone.

His suggestion that the children clean it while they waited for the cake to bake was met with a glorious chorus of whining, and Yan’s suggestion that Apollo do it for them – which was then met with a chorus of agreement.

Apollo shouldn’t. He knew he should make them do it themselves, but really, who was he to deny five pleading faces (even Nico’s was expectant enough that Apollo mentally grouped him with the other four).

With a sigh, he snapped his fingers and the kitchen was once again sparkling clean.

“Now what?” Kayla asked, leaning against a cupboard with a slightly-open door. Apollo could see her fingers sneaking inside to grab some more chocolate but decided to turn a blind eye. If his daughter wanted chocolate, she could have chocolate – at least until it reached the point of making her sick, but he was confident he would notice before it got to that point and stop her.

“Icing!” Jerry chirped. “Mum always makes icing!”

“Cakes need icing,” Apollo agreed.

“How do we make that?” Austin wondered, as Kayla gave up on the pretence that she wasn’t raiding a cupboard and threw it open.

“There’s sugar in here,” she proclaimed, “hey-!”

Nico had swooped in next to her and swiped the half-eaten bar of chocolate, taking a bite with a satisfying crack.

“That was my chocolate!” Kayla protested. Nico shrugged.

“Mine now.”

“I’ll shoot you,” she threatened, but Nico just smirked at her.

“Try it,” he dared.

Apollo decided to intervene before it got out of hand.

“For starters,” he answered Austin, “we need this.” A snap of his fingers had the chocolate bar disappearing from Nico’s grip and materialising on the counter.

It was Nico’s turn to exclaim “hey!” in protest. Kayla laughed at him.

“Dad, do you know how to do this?” Jerry finally asked, and five pairs of eyes settled on him. He smiled back at them.

“Of course I do!” he insisted.

“And you let us guess our way through making the cake?” Nico demanded. Apollo shrugged.

“You were having fun,” he defended himself. “It’ll be a fantastic cake. Now, as for the icing…”

With the five children now looking to him for direction, he split up the tasks between them and with far more concentration and less chaos, by the time the cake was out and cooled, they had more icing than they really needed, in a variety of colours, and Jerry had demanded Apollo produce a pen and paper so he could design how they were going to decorate the cake.

Mess returned with the application of the icing, and more of it ended up consumed than used, but that was why Apollo had arranged for so much to be made – even by the time they were done, there was plenty left over, which he reminded them was Will’s share when Kayla’s sticky fingers made fresh advances.

His daughter surrendered, and this time Apollo persuaded them to clean up the kitchen themselves – although he did at least snap them all clean so they didn’t all need urgent appointments with a shower – rather than doing it for them, which neatly ran them up to ‘a couple of hours’ since he’d helped Will roll over and go back to sleep for a bit.

No-one needed any encouragement to scramble back to the cabin, although Nico threatened all of them with shadowy horrors if their chaos woke Will if he wasn’t already awake. Apollo took care of transporting the cake, well aware that a quintet of hyped-up-on-sugar demigods was a recipe for disaster (maybe Will wouldn’t thank him for that, although there was more than enough icing left over for him to join their number very quickly), and before long they were all impatiently tapping their feet on the cabin floor.

Will, it transpired, must have already woken up because his bed was empty – although not yet made – and the plate of food Nico had left had been partially eaten. The sound of running water from the bathroom left no doubts at all as to his location, leaving the six of them with nothing to do but wait.

Nico commandeered Will’s bed, even going as far as to roughly pull the covers up before sitting on it. The other five scattered to their own bunks, while Apollo snapped a low table with plates into existence to place the cake on before perching on Will’s bed, next to Nico.

With enough noise to wake the dead, there was no way Will didn’t know they were all in there, so when the bathroom door edged open to reveal a fresh, healthy looking demigod with still-dripping hair, all they got was a fond eyeroll.

“What are you all doing in here?” he asked, apparently not noticing the new table. He was eying the clear hyperactivity with an air of I don’t want to know, and Apollo found himself the target of an exasperated look that clearly said I thought you were going to keep an eye on them.

“Waiting for you!” Kayla exclaimed, jumping down from her bunk and landing nimbly on all fours, rather like a cat.

From the look on Will’s face, that didn’t reassure him at all – or maybe he just didn’t like Kayla jumping down from her bunk rather than using the ladder.

“You can’t tell me you’ve had nothing better to do than wait for me to wake up,” he said, putting his hands on his hips – every inch the big brother he was.

Apollo decided to put him out of his misery.

“They made something for you,” he prompted as Austin joined Kayla on the floor with far more suave and much less chaos in his approach. Yan and Jerry scrambled to join them, and Apollo watched Will’s eyes widen in a surprise that quickly shifted to delight as Nico slunk to the back of the pack but unmistakably part of it.

“You helped, Dad,” Austin told him.

“I just supervised,” Apollo deflected. “You all did the work.”

That was the moment Will finally spotted the table. His siblings and boyfriend crowded him as he approached it, while Apollo settled himself by it and waited.

It would not be winning any fancy cake-decorating tournaments, but in his humble and not at all biased opinion, it was one of the best cakes he had ever seen.

THANK YOU was picked out in golden calligraphic icing – Jerry had a much steadier hand than most people equated with twelve year old children, although there were still some wobbles where he’d lost control of the piping. Around the words, each of the five had drawn something with various levels of skill.

Austin’s musical notes notated the opening bars of his latest composition in a perfect copy, while the saxophone he’d attempted to draw looked more like a smudged banana, especially when he’d started trying to scrape it off before Yan told him not to. Yan themselves had drawn the rising sun, with its rays just starting to poke over the horizon, while Jerry’s artistic talent had been used up on the calligraphy and he’d opted for a simple red cross, and a dark red blob that everyone knew was supposed to be a cricket ball, even if it rather resembled a splotch of blood.

Kayla, predictably, had attempted a bow at full draw. Bows weren’t difficult to draw, if kept simple, but she’d tried to add on all the accessories on her recurve so it had ended up a rather indistinct mass of various shades of greens and greys. Nico appeared determined to pretend he didn’t have any artistic talent at all, and had simply drawn a bright ring of gold around a black circle – Apollo was pretty certain it was supposed to represent Will’s ability to glow, although it also looked rather like a simplistic solar eclipse.

“I-” Will started. “Wha- Guys, what is this for?”

“It says right there!” Jerry protested, pointing at his calligraphy. Will put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“I can read it,” he assured him, “but… what for?” His confusion rang through the cabin clearly. The six of them looked at each other; Apollo wondering how to say everything in a colloquial way that would get through to his son as the demigods seemingly faced the same dilemma.

It was Nico who answered him, in the end, summing it up with a blunt succinctness.

“For being you.”

Will blinked, but then Kayla grabbed him in a hug, and that was the cue for the rest of them to dog-pile their big brother. The blond boy went down in a flail of too many limbs, and Nico and Apollo both laughed at the sight before catching each other’s eyes.

It was only a split second, but they came to an instant, silent, decision.

Will shrieked in protest as two more bodies joined the pile on top of him, but then there was laughter, and maybe a few tears, and far too many demigods hyped up on sugar and emotions – and maybe a god, too.

It was a long time before they got around to eating the cake – which was absolutely delicious in the way all things made with love were – and catching Will up to the rest of them in terms of consumed sugar and subsequent hyperactivity that Apollo could already sense Chiron’s despairing disapproval for, but he loved every moment of it.

This was how family gatherings were supposed to be. Olympus: take note.

#toasecretsanta #tsarinatorment #crystalcatgamer #pjo apollo #nico di angelo #will solace #austin lake #kayla knowles #toa jerry #toa yan #trials of apollo #toa #riordanverse #trials of apollo fanfic #toa fanfic #riordanverse fanfic

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ksiondzkanexkiii · 29 days ago

Text

I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU AGAIN || FRAGMENT

CHAPTER SIX

To find the full story go to wattpad or neobook

Chapter Seven

Chapter Five

- Histories forgotten by time," Blinky said excitedly as the widow entered his library, she expected to find there all she currently needed come what may, she was most anxious to find Jim.

The widow raised her eyebrows seeing the excited group looked as if they had found some kind of puzzle and almost immediately found the solution - If we had found the treasure," Blinky muttered sinking his nose into the books while heading towards the table on which the ash lay, which puzzled Anoan.

She thought Blinkous belonged to the purer trolls - Then we can manage to exterminate Gunmar, Blinky you nut! - Complimented Jim chided in a strange way according to the widow especially that she didn't know what was going on because she got into the middle of the conversation

- Gunmar is going to die - Tobes cheered and Aaarrgghh standing behind the teenagers expressed his worry by muttering under his breath - Caution -.

- Careful - Confirmed Blinky as everyone walked closer to the table on which the book lay - The Triumbric Stone rocks have been hidden for centuries, however, if he solved this riddle - Explained Blinkous with his finger running over the page of the book, everyone stood around Blinky to also look at the page he was pointing to - There would be a chance -.

- Lives overshadow the wicked and eternally possess power - Claire recited almost immediately remembering the words hidden in the book that Blinky burned - Make Vendel not interested in your expeditions - Anoana muttered looking at the drawing of the Triumbric stone. The whole group almost jumped up hearing the widow suddenly Jim quickly shook his head to ward off the shock from his face

- We will be grateful - replied Jim sending her a short smile, the widow only bowed gently lowering her head gently to the ground joining her hands on her chest - However, you must be careful and act quickly - She added after a while - Vendel will start to suspect something - she added after a while

- We'll be so fast that Vendel won't notice," Tobes said proudly, thrusting his chest forward, the widow nodded gently, smiling as she heard Toby gently whispering through the braces he had on his teeth

Everyone looked at each other silently devising a plan their smiles betrayed only that they were convinced of the validity of the plan they came up with without pronouncing it

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

The sound of the approaching Vespa interested Barbara, who was sitting on the living room couch waiting impatiently for her son, whom she was very worried about because he had not answered his phone or said where he was going.

She called every possible place however no one saw Jim it looked as if he had sunk to the ground. Barbara sipped her tea trying to calm her nerves that were bubbling in her mind worrying about her son

When she heard the teenager park his Vespa in the driveway her impatience reached the ceiling waiting for the boy to open the door saying innocently - Hi Mom! I'm back," Jim called out, not yet noticing his mother's worried together angry look

Barbara almost immediately stood up crossing her arms over her chest almost in an accusatory manner - Where have you been? - She asked immediately wrinkling her eyebrows there were dark bags under the redhead's eyes showing her fatigue from work and the amount of worry she had experienced over the last hours

The teenager in front of his mother stiffened seeing her posture and the tone of voice she gave him - What do you mean, I was in the library - The teenager mumbled, trying to pretend to be relaxed so that his mother would swallow the hook of the lie he made up on the fly. Barbara was not fooled by seeing her son lie straight to her eyes - With Claire and Tobes - He mumbled further shrugging his shoulders -.

- The library closed three hours ago! - Argued Barbara pointing an accusatory finger at her son - Where were you I ask? - She repeated her question, which she had been asking herself for the past four hours

Annoyance also began to build up in the teenager when his mother asked him where he was, she acted as if he was five years old and was supposed to come home after nine o'clock, but hell he was sixteen she couldn't order him what time to come back he is almost an adult - Gosh I don't know! - Exasperated, he sighed -We went for a walk -He continued trying to get his mother to calm down and stop droning on about it

If he could he would have told her about the whole amulet thing, but he couldn't, he couldn't put her in danger - I'm worried here and you can't come up with a better lie? - Argued Barbara further, looking accusingly at her son and offended by how unsuccessfully he lies to her face without even considering her feelings or anything else

- I'm so sorry - He threw out these words the teenager waving his hands in the air turning on his heel to walk away towards the stairs - You can stop worrying - Exclaimed the teenager climbing up the stairs heading towards his room to disappear behind it - Because after look! I'm back - With these words he disappeared behind the door of his room slamming the door behind him

Barbara struggled to hold back her tears as she jumped slightly hearing the door slam, she gently lowered her sleeve so she could wipe away the tears that were growing in the corners of her eyes. She slowly moved toward the stairs wanting to knock on Jim's room but halfway up the stairs she stopped, rejecting the idea to return to the couch her visions were blurred by tears that ruined her makeup, which was already ruined after many hours of work

Jim was sitting at his desk when he turned on the lamp at his desk unaware of the person behind him - She's worried Jim - A female voice behind Jim spoke up causing him to jump up in his chair instinctively reaching for the amulet and then turning around to meet the widow who was a head taller than him.

The widow raised an eyebrow seeing the behavior of the teenager, who was catching rapid breaths - Your instincts are good, but you are hurting your mother - She muttered, looking at him from top to bottom as the teenager normalized his breathing

The teenager looked at the widow as if she had told the world's worst story, rested his hands on his knees as his back gently leaned forward - What are you suggesting? - He raised an eyebrow suspiciously before the widow had time to answer anything Jim did it for her - Are you suggesting to tell her about the whole troll hunter thing? - He asked rhetorically - That I fight trolls and other creatures after nights? - The teenager even mocked his own words

The widow tilted her head slightly to the side while shaking it disapprovingly as she watched the teenager also shake his head while looking at the amulet - No. That's not what I meant - She stated casually moving around the teenager's room looking at the books and cassette tape on his bookshelf - In fact, I wanted to tell you to correct your lies somehow so as not to hurt her - She smiled innocently looking at the boy over her shoulder

Jim rolled his eyes at the widow's statement as he furrowed his eyebrows a moment later - How did you get here? - He asked suddenly and out loud. This question he wanted to ask himself in his mind, the widow only shrugged her shoulders

- You left the window open so I flew in," she replied without caring, reaching for one of the comic books on his shelves - Besides, did you ever think to go home through the window, too? - She asked rhetorically - Then you would have an excuse that you were in the house all the time and your mother forgot to check the room - She added quickly leafing through the comic book, which, however, was not as interesting as she had thought

Jim did not answer only closed his eyes with fatigue also running his hands over his face to ward off fatigue, he did not even think about what the widow said was some solution at the same time even more avoidance of Barbara and the consequences associated with mother and son moving away from each other.

By the way, it was the perfect solution to avoid arguments

- But she didn't come here to give you lessons on how to lie to your mother," muttered the widow again moving around Jim's room casually looking at the various inventions in his room, "So what is it? - Asked Jim pulling his hand away from his forehead

Anoana finally settled on his bed looking at the fatigue painted on the teenager's face - He wants to know if you are sure about this - Asked the widow quietly, seeing the confused look of the teenager - Sure of what? - Asked Jim tilting his head

- Going to the Darklands," replied the widow casually, "Defeating Gunmar could cost you and your friends their lives Jim," she murmured quietly, "And that's because of one little creature? - she stated bluntly, almost since the plan to save Enrique came up the widow was against it

Not because she didn't want to save the children located in Darklandas, but she was more afraid that Gunmar might escape - You volunteered for a deadly mission because of your unspoken love for Claire - The widow continued to drone on seeing Jim's determined face she knew he wouldn't let go as easily as she assumed

He won't come up to Claire and say he's frowned upon saving Enrique - I'm sure of it," the teen finally replied, straightening his back even more as if he wanted to puff out his chest in a show of pride and courage that currently surrounds his aura, "We will save Enrique and kill Gunmar -

The widow swallowed her saliva hard seeing how determined the boy was this worried her even more, she had the feeling that her love for Claire and her desire to get recognition from her was overshadowing the teenager's true judgment - Jim, it won't be easy - Before she had time to answer anything more the teenager interrupted her

- I know, everyone tells me this however I won't change my mind - He replied shaking his head - I know it won't be easy however I feel I can do it - The teenager argued - I killed Bular so Gunmar won't be scary to me especially if we get all the Triumbric Stone - The teenager continued to argue

The widow wanted to answer him but Jim again preceded her - You would have done the same for your husband or for Indun - He threw this text freely making the widow pull in air suddenly.

He was right that if Angor or Indun landed in the Darklands she would do anything to save them even if it meant facing Gunmar - You're right for them I would even jump off a cliff or run into the Darklands without a weapon or a plan - Confirmed the widow after a minute of silence, the widow got up from the bed, which squeaked when it lost the weight of the troll

- However, this is not my only concern," she added after a moment as she looked down to be able to look at the boy, "There are many children in the Darklands," she explained quietly, "You must save only Enrique without considering the other children, being in the motherland you will not have much time to take more than one child," she explained calmly.

Jim obediently nodded his head in memory writing down the widow's words. Come on the teenager was overflowing with information he was getting from the senior council of troll hunters and others tried to write down in his memory every clue he got - Come on I believe that even without this heroic act Claire would love you - She added more quietly looking at the teenager who wanted to deny it

- In spite of everything and as for Claire," she interrupted, gathering her thoughts and the words she wanted to say to you, "I haven't found you a place for a date yet, but I'll find one soon," she said suddenly dismissing the thought she wanted to utter, she moved her left hand to make purple streaks escape from under her marble fingers to open the window that the teenager had just closed when he returned to the room

- You don't have to - The teenager wanted to change his mind, which he had expressed earlier about the date with Claire who he wanted to take after the ball. However, the widow interrupted him - You are an awkward boy, I will help you make your date less awkward. That's what you asked me to do and I will do it," she replied dispassionately, although the glint in her eye made Jim understand that she would not let go so easily

- This is an act with which I will be able to pay the debt I owe to you -.

- What kind of debt? -

- You protect the Trollmarket, you protect every troll," she interrupted, "You protect us even without having the stone skin or speed that trolls have.

As they both stood in silence the widow spoke one last time - By the way, you can lie to your mother as much as you want, however, you are moving away from each other and you are both suffering - She paused to take a breath - Keep that in mind - She stated once again leaving the teenager in a minefield who had to figure out the meaning of her sentence on his own

Anoana no longer stood in one position when the purple smoke enveloped her body shrinking to the size of a rat, she squealed several times jumping on Jim's desk - Oh Jim - You squealed recalling something she was yet to say - Don't take the oracle's word for it - The rat twirled its long brown and pink tail

- I believe it is possible to kill Gunmar as well as Bulara however, it requires training, dedication and a lot of courage," she muttered, "The last troll hunters may be jealous if they claim you won't kill Gunmar," she added after a moment's thought. She took one last look at the teenager with her black eyes as she slowly nodded her head to run out the open window a moment later.

The widow jumped onto the gutter that ran along Jim's window to slip off it and run toward the forest to effectively disappear even in a hit. Jim escorted the widow, who was in the form of a rat, to the forest line, as she had already disappeared behind the forest line.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

The widow has rarely slept during the daytime for the past few days, when mostly the trolls slept she flew out of Trollmarket in search of romantic date spots to help the troll hunter get Claire's hand while looking for a suitable gift to give her.

The task seemed easy and yet it was difficult the widow had to limit herself to choosing a place in Arcadia she could not fly out further than she would like.

The matter was made easier by the fact that she could turn into a bird and search everything from the air only landing from time to time to rest or assess a place, which looked promising from the air, when she landed to assess the place, however, it looked dull and unattractive.

Too many bushes

Not enough flowers

No path to the location

Anoana was slowly losing hope fatigue was getting more and more impossible to live with. The widow's eyes were closing on their own as she tried to stay alert and watch where she was flying and how high she was flying, she didn't want to collide with a building, a tree or maybe even a human being as far as that went. Still, the widow's eyes were not as obedient as she wanted them to be she kept telling herself

I'll close my eyes for a while

To slap herself in her own mind after a while to keep her sanity, which was quite a challenge as the thoughts magnified and fatigue did not let go. This kept the widow unfocused on the flight

It was a big mistake

She found this out quite painfully

She closed her eyes for a moment and then painfully collided with the bark of the tree, a painful squawk issued from her beak as she felt as if the beak would break at the same time pressing on her brain as she bounced off the tree to painfully hit the branches bouncing off and falling each time painfully squawking and whimpering. As her delicate bird spine hit the ground moments she lay dully staring at the sky.

When she heard giggles above her head she rolled over to be able to stand on her feet at a moment when a woman was just taking her picture forgetting to turn off the flash. The widow sent her a bored look which the human woman couldn't understand through the hawk's expressionless face.

The sack of meat walked away giggling into the phone looking at the photo of the hawk - Sack of meat," the widow sneered rolling her eyes as she led the human woman away. When the strange woman disappeared over the hill the widow only now had time to look around, delight almost immediately shining in the widow's eyes.

She had to tell Jimbo about this place almost immediately she had no time to waste. Lifting her wings high, she momentarily soared into the air without waiting a second longer and directed her flight toward Arcadia Oak.

Approaching the high school where the human Troll Hunter and his friends attended, she did not expect to hear Lake's screams, if it were not for her sharpened hearing she probably would not have heard it interested in the noises she headed towards the playing fields from where the noises were coming from.

Did she expect Jim fighting a mud golem?

Don't.

She didn't expect it, her eyebrows momentarily shot up when she saw Jim hanging on to the golem as he firmly held the have that was impaled on the butt of the mud monster. She didn't want to disturb Jim's master so she calmly settled down on the soccer frame with patience as she watched the troll hunter struggle

She wanted to see Jim fight, she assessed him with a critical eye or her hope that Jim would show the senior council of former troll heroes that he could kill Gunmar himself without losing his life. The mud golem caught Jim in its earthen hand firmly squeezing his abdomen causing air to escape from Jim's lungs - It wasn't supposed to be like this," the boy complained as the earth golem tossed the boy and kicked him

- Well the golem has a golem," said Widow turning her head to look at Jimbo who was entangled in the net, Jim looked up to see the hawk watching him. Lake could have sworn he saw a mocking smile on the hawk's beak

As long as birds can smile

- A widow? - Pouted a surprised Jim seeing a familiar brown bird that can talk he knew only one person who could do such a thing, she didn't even say anything else when the mud golem started to cringe or make sounds only known to itself - Get up hunter still your opponent is alive - Reminded the widow

- Oh right," the boy recalled while trying to disentangle himself from the rope that wrapped around his leg, "Besides, what are you doing here? - He asked while struggling with the rope at the same time.

The widow squawked, reminding the boy that he should hurry his moves and attack the mud golem - I flew to you, but I see you're busy," Anoana whined, watching the teenager have no idea how to fight the golem and how to kill it. She didn't interfere, she knew he would soon figure it out.

She watched as the boy tried to climb up the golem towards its neck he had a plan to pierce the golem's arteries optionally just cut off its head, his plans were foiled the moment the golem grabbed him again squeezing him tightly so that he would have no way to escape - Well there you go again you're caught," the widow concluded

Jim, if he could would have thrown a bored glance in Anoan's direction however now he was a bit preoccupied

- What are you doing wrong Jim - She called out jumping to the side to avoid a collision, with the mud that rips off the golem when it makes sudden movements - Change tactics, find a weak point - Reminded the widow

- Thanks a lot for the advice - Howled Jim irritated by the widow's comments at the same time his helplessness. Jim's knee began to refuse to obey him as a throbbing pain issued from his kneecap - But why don't you tell how to fight it? - Cried Jim as he turned toward the golem just meeting his fist

Jim flew back two meters had to quickly do a dodge without thinking about the pain that just haunted his back as the golem tried to crush him with its fist - I'm not the hunter," cried the widow as she watched Jim struggle, at the critical moment she would attack - You want to defeat Gunmar, you have to train. My help here would make - She paused as she watched Jim select a sword and cut off the hand of the mud monster

The monster looked at its severed hand making a sad purring sound, Jim taking advantage of the monster's disorientation ran towards its leg cutting it off just like the hand. The mud golem fell to the ground and the widow jumped aside again to avoid getting a ricochet of mud - Yes! - She praised the widow seeing that the fight was heading towards the boy's victory

When the golem wanted to grab Jim again with its uncut hand in this one the boy quickly removed the golem's hand by cutting it off at the wrist. Everything went smoothly, too smoothly. At least according to the boy, but the widow said nothing but brief praise and criticism when it went right or wrong.

Everything was going well until the golem regenerated by rebuilding for itself again its limbs that it had lost. The golem wasted no time trying to trample, crush with its fist or anything else to kill Jim. Fortunately Jim was agile so he managed to dodge everything the golem had to offer, the widow didn't expect it however Jim jumped on the Golem's hand and then on its shoulder to bounce off the ground and slice through the golem's chest

The attack resulted in the unveiling of the doll located in the golem's heart, the teenager's eyes widened at the sight of the stone doll located in the golem's heart after a moment, the shock washed off the teenager's face to be replaced by the cleverness in his eyes and a smile as he clenched his fingers tighter on the sword's hilt.

- You have a plan, congratulations put it into practice do not wait - The widow called out wanting to feel the teenager, before she could finish the sentence the golem managed to throw a ball of earth at Jim, and when he dodged the attack he was kicked straight in the stomach - That's right, quick planning - finished the widow

The teenager got up on his feet holding his abdomen without wasting a moment longer he stretched out both hands summoning his sword with a yell of effort he brandished it to gain enough strength and speed to throw the weapon towards the place where the stone doll, obscured by the ground, was located.

The sword pierced through the entire body of the earth golem The doll's impaled on the weapon effectively left the golem with no way to regenerate to continue attacking the boy. Even an unconscious golem could have been dangerous, as it almost crushed the teenager, but the teenager jumped away at the last moment - Congratulations," the widow praised, "But it's not over yet," she added.

The boy looked at the widow and his shoulders slumped, the widow looked at Jimbo and then at the doll, which was still impaled on the sword of Daylight - You have one last step left," whispered the widow, the teenager obediently nodded understanding what was going on. Hopping on the Golem to shorten the path to his sword, Jim ran up to the stone doll to take the totem in his hand and destroy it by smashing it in half

The widow flew closer to the teenager to settle next to him changing its shape into a dog, Jimbo's shoulders slumped as he looked at the damage the golem had done. The boy's mind was more preoccupied with the pain that existed in his body - What was that? - Asked Jim looking at the remains of the totem and then at the dead earth golem, which was now just a pile of dirt and mud

Jim looked at the large dog that sat next to him - Animus Totem - the widow muttered - Ask Blinkous about it - she added, wanting to lose the questions Jim knew were simmering in his little head

- I found a place where you can invite Claire," she said looking towards Jim, who groaned in displeasure. Anoana raised her eyebrows suspiciously as she saw the boy wipe his face with his hands - What's going on Jim? Isn't this what you asked me to do? - She asked, tilting her head as her dog ears tuned in

- No, No," said Jim quickly, "Thank you for doing that I just have a lot on my mind," Howled the boy grabbing his stomach, which was hurting him. Certainly its bruised - He doesn't want to talk about it - he added after a while breaking the subject - But where is this place? - Asked the boy as he threw the broken totem on the ground

To find the full story go to wattpad or neobook

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