There's a drakon that only a child of Ares can kill. It was my fault, I told Kronos that the Ares cabin wasn't there so he sent the Lydian drakon.
[ she reaches out automatically, fingers curling around marcos' wrist like she can impress upon him... what? that she didn't mean to? that she deserved it? who knows. the moment the empathy bond flares between them it isn't emotions that it shares but a memory through silena's own eyes.
a two hundred foot long serpent slithered down fifth avenue, thick enough to crush sidewalk trees and cars beneath its enormous body, one of it's yellow eyes is bloody, but it's gaze is still paralyzing -- not like medusa, but pee your pants terrified paralysis, teeth bared, razor sharp and big enough to chomp through a school bus. even still a dozen war chariots race down the street, pulled by skeletal horses, and silena is in the lead in gleaming red armor, boar's head helmet obscuring her face and a bit of her vision as she urges her chariot onward, holding an electric spear aloft. the electricity makes her fingers sting.
"Ares! To me!" silena yells, voice shrill as she heads straight for the drakon. half the chariots veer off to handle the rest of the small monsters but the remaining five stay with silena's chariot until the drakon's stare paralyzes two chariot drivers and they crash into parked cars. the drakon bares its fangs and a dozen javelins fly into its mouth, hissing in pain. the chariots circle the drakon, fainting glowing celestial bronze swords and javelins and lances breaking across the drakon's back and hacking chinks into the thick armored scales. silena fights in the front, stabbing the electric spear at the drakon's remaining eye, shaking with fear and adrenaline.
all at once, things start to go wrong. the drakon eats an ares camper in one gulp, another is swatted away by the tail, hitting a tree with a sick crunch of broken bones, another is sprayed with poison and he retreats quickly as his bronze armor melts. a voice from across the street yells "You can do it! A child of Ares is destined to kill it!" and silena looks over to see percy and annabeth racing to help her. she needs to end this. leveling her spear, silena charges at the drakon and takes the full blast of poison, falling with a scream.
the battle rages around her as she lays on the ground, trembling as the poison eats through her armor, through her skin, burns its way through her. someone stops next to her, and then another, annabeth and the ares campers struggling to pull her helmet off. the drakon attacks nearby and she flinches, tears streaking down her acid ruined face, salt burning the already destroyed skin. a familiar roar of anger drifts into her consciousness and silena tries to call clarisse's name but nothing comes out except a wheeze of pain. she doesn't know what is happening until annabeth finally gets the helmet off and she finds herself cradled in clarisse's lap.
her best friend.
"You stupid Aphrodite girl," clarisse accuses through sobs. "You charged a drakon, why?"
"All my fault. The drakon, Charlie's death... camp endangered." clarisse tries to stop her, but silena opens her hand and percy draws free the silver bracelet clutched between her fingers, touching the mark of kronos. silena was the spy. "Before... before I liked Charlie. Luke was nice, he was so charming." the memory falters and silena weakens further, stuttering like an old movie before it comes back. "Forgive me."
clarisse shakes her head, insistent, demanding. "You're not dying."
"Charlie... see Charlie."
there is nothing more, silena draws her hand back like she had burned marcos and there are tears rolling down her face again, a face unmarred by the poison acid, blue eyes just as fearful that marcos is going to decide silena shouldn't be forgiven. ]
no subject
There's a drakon that only a child of Ares can kill. It was my fault, I told Kronos that the Ares cabin wasn't there so he sent the Lydian drakon.
[ she reaches out automatically, fingers curling around marcos' wrist like she can impress upon him... what? that she didn't mean to? that she deserved it? who knows. the moment the empathy bond flares between them it isn't emotions that it shares but a memory through silena's own eyes.
a two hundred foot long serpent slithered down fifth avenue, thick enough to crush sidewalk trees and cars beneath its enormous body, one of it's yellow eyes is bloody, but it's gaze is still paralyzing -- not like medusa, but pee your pants terrified paralysis, teeth bared, razor sharp and big enough to chomp through a school bus. even still a dozen war chariots race down the street, pulled by skeletal horses, and silena is in the lead in gleaming red armor, boar's head helmet obscuring her face and a bit of her vision as she urges her chariot onward, holding an electric spear aloft. the electricity makes her fingers sting.
"Ares! To me!" silena yells, voice shrill as she heads straight for the drakon. half the chariots veer off to handle the rest of the small monsters but the remaining five stay with silena's chariot until the drakon's stare paralyzes two chariot drivers and they crash into parked cars. the drakon bares its fangs and a dozen javelins fly into its mouth, hissing in pain. the chariots circle the drakon, fainting glowing celestial bronze swords and javelins and lances breaking across the drakon's back and hacking chinks into the thick armored scales. silena fights in the front, stabbing the electric spear at the drakon's remaining eye, shaking with fear and adrenaline.
all at once, things start to go wrong. the drakon eats an ares camper in one gulp, another is swatted away by the tail, hitting a tree with a sick crunch of broken bones, another is sprayed with poison and he retreats quickly as his bronze armor melts. a voice from across the street yells "You can do it! A child of Ares is destined to kill it!" and silena looks over to see percy and annabeth racing to help her. she needs to end this. leveling her spear, silena charges at the drakon and takes the full blast of poison, falling with a scream.
the battle rages around her as she lays on the ground, trembling as the poison eats through her armor, through her skin, burns its way through her. someone stops next to her, and then another, annabeth and the ares campers struggling to pull her helmet off. the drakon attacks nearby and she flinches, tears streaking down her acid ruined face, salt burning the already destroyed skin. a familiar roar of anger drifts into her consciousness and silena tries to call clarisse's name but nothing comes out except a wheeze of pain. she doesn't know what is happening until annabeth finally gets the helmet off and she finds herself cradled in clarisse's lap.
her best friend.
"You stupid Aphrodite girl," clarisse accuses through sobs. "You charged a drakon, why?"
"All my fault. The drakon, Charlie's death... camp endangered." clarisse tries to stop her, but silena opens her hand and percy draws free the silver bracelet clutched between her fingers, touching the mark of kronos. silena was the spy. "Before... before I liked Charlie. Luke was nice, he was so charming." the memory falters and silena weakens further, stuttering like an old movie before it comes back. "Forgive me."
clarisse shakes her head, insistent, demanding. "You're not dying."
"Charlie... see Charlie."
there is nothing more, silena draws her hand back like she had burned marcos and there are tears rolling down her face again, a face unmarred by the poison acid, blue eyes just as fearful that marcos is going to decide silena shouldn't be forgiven. ]