Forum Thread

Just a little farther...

----A loud roar interrupted the rather peaceful silence that Illori had been enjoying. She sighed, almost exasperatedly, and in one fluid motion, she drew her bow, nocked an arrow, and spun around, letting it fly straight into the maw of the hellhound. It halted in surprise and pain as Illori almost lazily unsheathed a shimmering blade, stepped aside, and stabbed it through the neck. The monster was too surprised to even whimper as it disintegrated into sparkly dust.
----Illori's vivid, purplish-red eyes scanned the scene with satisfaction for a moment, before continuing on. She sheathed her blade, and looked down at the ground, a frown dimming her face. "Got to do better than that, Hades," She advised.
----There was no evident sign that he had heard, but Illori was certain that it would eventually reach him. She broke into a sprint, her legs alien to the feeling of burning muscles as she descended. Though she hadn't been completely immortal, there was a notable difference between immortal pain and mortal pain. The ancient girl was getting used to being mortal, and though she had nearly freaked when she first caught a cold, she was adjusting to the little pains that plagued the mortal body. After all, she was originally mortal.
----The silver moonlight seemed to enshroud her as she leaped through the archway that proclaimed “Keeping Young Heroes Safe from Harm (Mostly) For Over Three Millennia.” It had taken weeks to even reach Long Island (note, hunting wolves did not like getting their fur wet), and now she was here - the only Greek camp for demigods in the entire world. It couldn't stop the world nearly getting destroyed about a bajillion times, but hey, it did have some good barbecue. At least, that was what Illori recalled.
----Either way, she was finally here. A small stop where Illori could find some shelter for a few weeks before she headed for...well, for lack of a better term, her impending demise. It wouldn't be long before the gods realized she had left the sanctuary of being under Artemis' wing. They'd come after her, swords blazing. Even now, Hades already had noticed. Her death was soon. Illori's knees gave out on her, and she crumpled to the ground, pain boiling through her entire body. "No, no, no!" She screamed internally. "Let me at least get to camp first!"
----It was her typical luck. So close to safety (well, as safe as you could get in a world of cannibal monsters and murderous gods). Though, things that usually happened to the insignificant demigods never happened to her. Illori wasn't just a daughter of Hecate, or a former Hunter of Artemis.

----She was also a victim of the HIV virus.

----It was ironic, and somewhat amusing. A former Hunter, a young maiden who had forgone the company of men, infected with a sexually transmitted disease. Ambrosia or nectar couldn't help - at least, from what Illori had known. She lay curled in a fetal position, trying to slow her rapid breathing. The pain was going away, but silly her had just remembered that she hadn't taken her medicine. So as she lay there on the moist grassy ground, Illori decided that there was no loss if she berated herself furiously.
----When she had deemed it safe to raise herself into a sitting position, Illori stayed like that for a few moments, catching her breath. She let her eyelids droop half-closed, recalling the day she had been diagnosed. A grim smile graced her pale features as she raised a hand to gingerly touch her temple. Illori felt a headache incoming, the memories coming back faster than a flash of lightning.

A bullet from a simpleton, a mortal, causing excruciating pain in her chest...
The ER...flashing lights...the blood transfusion occurring...
Two weeks later, awakening in a white room...
Another week, diagnosed with the disease...

----Illori had narrowly escaped the hospital, determined to have her last moments not stuck in the mortal world. If she had to die, then so be it. The gods wanted her dead already. She'd lived a long life, and she intended on dying doing what she loved - hunting and traveling. Illori had reluctantly taken the medicine from a nurse who had been disguised a nymph (the usual dose of weirdness), mainly because the nymph was pleading so pitifully it was kind of heartless not to. She sighed wistfully, feeling the scar on her chest throb, as if it was remembering the pain as well.
----The former Hunter didn't remember when the shadows had started stirring. Perhaps after being granted the honor of being Artemis' mortal champion, her senses sharpened considerably under the light of the moon. To her own surprise, with frustratingly jerky movements, she managed to notch an arrow in her bow, swiveling around to find a sword pointed at her nose. Her eyes narrowed sharply once she realized a teenage boy was standing over her. The instinct to jump away and let the arrow fly tugged at her. Though Illori had been notably more lenient to boys than the other Hunters, she still could not stand them near her.
----Under the dim light of the moon, Illori could vaguely make out the boy's face. Their hair was a shocking pale green-blue that was so pale, it was almost white. She couldn't see his eye color, though from the way the shadows were stirring and the slowly dropping temperature...
----Illori's blood ran cold as realization dawned upon her. "Come to kill me, son of Hades?" She smiled wryly, her arrow still aimed and steady.
Despite the fact that his face was in shadow, Illori could tell that by the way his eyebrows furrowed that he was frowning. "Unless I have good reason to, no," The boy stated, confusion laced in his voice.
----Illori nearly flinched in surprise. Why was that voice so familiar? She'd met hundreds of demigods during her travels as a Hunter, but something in the boy's voice struck at her like something she knew. Illori didn't bother trying to rack her brains for it - she'd lived thousands of years, she couldn't remember every single detail could she?
----The boy seemed to slacken his grip on the sword, and in a flash, Illori took her chance. The sword was wrenched away from the boy's hand with a strike of an arrow, spinning through the air as he found himself at the mercy of Illori's glowing lamina lunae.

----Therion felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs. He'd never been disarmed so easily. Especially not by a sickly looking girl who looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion. He'd gotten so used to having the upper hand at night, that he felt a piece of his self crumble.
----He stumbled backwards, only to find his feet stuck to the ground. What the Hades? The girl rose from her seat unsteadily, her face illuminated by the moonlight. Therion could see her clearly, now...luminous purplish-red eyes, and purplish-black hair that rippled down to her mid-torso. What was with the purple? Something about the look in her eye bothered Therion, but he couldn't quite put his finger to it. At least now he was sure it wasn't a monster - the girl held the aura of a demigod. But there was also something off about her. The way she moved was unnerving - moving with complete grace and almost impossible stealth. It wasn't something a typical demigod could do while under attack.
----When he finally got over his quick defeat, Therion found his voice. "Who are you?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but the girl quirked an eyebrow, evidently hearing.
----"Seeing as I'm the one with the weapon that can slice you like a pizza, the better question would be, 'who are you'?" The girl quipped.
----Therion clenched his jaw, his eyes flashing. He really did not like upstarts. "Well, if you're really that desperate for my name, sure," He shot back, noting with satisfaction on how the girl's lip curled unpleasantly. "Therion Ravel-Sanguine, at your service, my lady," He mock bowed, but was stopped by the very pointy sword a mere inch from his chest.
----"Don't push your luck, boy," The girl hissed, her red eyes flashing rather menacingly. Therion forced himself not to recoil.
----The clouds dissipated abruptly by some unknown force (cough - yeah, right, gods - cough), and the full light of the moon shone on both of them, allowing either to examine the other.

----Illori studied the boy with mild interest and of course, the seemingly permanent disgust that she had honed over the years as a Hunter. He was rather typically wearing black clothes, but Illori noted that his T-shirt was trimmed with gray, and his shoes were a soft brown. Besides those, everything was black. As she scanned him, his startling cool gray eyes did critically look her over.
----The girl's luminous red eyes seemed to grow even brighter in the moonlight, if it was possible. Her hair was a rippling wave of a purplish-black color, that deeply contrasted with her silver get up. In fact, she looked exactly like a Hunter of Artemis, except Therion didn't see any other girls around. Would also explain the vindictive look on her face at his jest. And would also explain why the moonlight was practically shrouding her.
----Therion decided to push his luck. In the unfortunate case he died, at least he knew his father wouldn't allow him to rot in the Fields of Punishment. "So you're not going to name yourself?" He inquired, allowing himself a cocky grin. The girl's expressionless face immediately darkened.
----"Stupid men," Illori hissed under her breath, just loud enough for the boy to hear. Her piercing gaze met his cool eyes, and there was a momentary stand-off. "Illori," The former Hunter finally said, clear hostility in her tone.
----Therion raised an eyebrow. "That's a nice name," He commented offhandedly.
----Illori was tempted to skewer the boy already, but Hades most likely would blast her to dust if she killed one of his sons. Eh, not much of a difference. She was pondering the idea when the arrogant jerk waved his hand in front of her face.
----"Hello?" He asked in a bored tone. "Are we going to stand here all night or...?"
----Illori exhaled slowly, pushing away the urge to slap that bored expression off the boy's face. Not taking her eyes off his incredibly annoying face, she sheathed her blade, and with a languid flick of a finger, shot his sword from the ground and to her grasp. She let her eyes leave him, her expression relaxing as she examined the sword. It was a little too heavy for her, and...Illori's brow furrowed, her reflection blurring across the blade's surface. "Stygian iron," She observed out loud, turning the blade over. Hesitantly, she reached out and touched the surface, earning a "hey!" of protest from the boy. Her eyes lolled back, images flashing in her mind's eye. She was yanked back to reality as she felt the blade snatched from her hands.

----Therion nearly didn't manage to catch Illori and the sword. The moment she had touched the metal, he'd immediately sensed her life draining away from her. Naturally, he took the sword from her, and she crumpled to the ground, her eyes fluttering open. With a grunt, Therion had caught her. She was surprisingly lighter than she seemed, and for one horrifying moment, he could still sense her life waning. Then it stopped, the light returning to those scarily blank red eyes. Illori blinked, realized what was going on, and leaped out of the boy's arms with an angry screech. Before either could even blink, Illori already had another arrow notched and aimed at Therion, her eyes now alive and blazing with fury.
----Therion was smart enough to hold up his hands in surrender. He'd traveled through the Underworld, fought the most terrifying monsters, and seen things that drove most demigods insane. He'd gone through the usual painful trials every demigod child of the Big Three went through. Despite all this, he couldn't help but feel an inkling of fear at the murderous look in the purple-haired girl's red eyes. "Don't kill me?" He tried weakly.
----For five moments, Therion didn't breathe as he prayed to the gods that he wouldn't die by the hands of a P.O.'d Hunter girl simply because he saved her from a good thwack on the head. Either the gods decided to let him live, had pity on him (haha, no), or thought it wasn't an entertaining enough death. Probably the latter.
----Illori's milky white skin was flushed with color, her breathing heavy as her hand loosened on the arrow. There was nothing more in the world that she wanted right now than to let that arrow fly and watch the life leave the arrogant boy's body. Her eyes widened at what she just thought, her grip loosening on her bow.

"What are you, Damara?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you let the mortal in you rule? Or the ruthless immortal who slaughters friends and enemies alike without an afterthought? Choose, my dear. Which are you?"

----Illori sank to her knees, the color gone once more. Her beautiful silver bow had slipped from her grip, the arrow lying beside it, forgotten. No. The boy was by her side asking her if she was alright, but her ears pounded with her roaring blood, rendering her deaf. There were black spots in her vision now, reminding her of the black space of the night sky, when it was starless.
----"...Illori! That voice, so distant.
----"I...llori!" Coming closer. Why was it so...persistent?
----"ILLORI!" She had to let go. Could the voice not understand?
----"ILLORI!" Nothing could bring her back...nothing....

----Illori awoke in a cozy bed, the air smelling of strawberries, and the sun beaming down on her face. For one heart stopping moment, she couldn't remember anything. Then it all flooded back to her - her name, what had happened, and where she was...
----"Oh, good, you're awake," A voice floated out of nowhere.
----Illori's head snapped in their direction, tense and with narrowed eyes. The boy approached carefully with hands raised in surrender. From what Illori could see, he wore those medical gloves doctors usually wore, but was dressed casually in a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. Illori's red eyes flicked over the boy's appearance, noting the shaggy blond hair and blue eyes. A son of Apollo, clearly.
----"If I come nearer, will you try to inflict serious harm?" The guy asked cautiously. "Ravel, um, mentioned you were hostile to any males - we guessed you were a Hunter?" He added hastily.
----Illori boiled at the son of Hades' name, but she pursed her lips and tried to relax. "I was a Hunter. Not anymore," She managed. "And no, as long as you don't try anything."
----The male nodded, lowering his hands, his expression being one of relief. His movements were stiff and discomposed as he moved over, nervously busying his hands with a pack of fresh ambrosia taken out of his pocket. He passed it to Illori, who suddenly realized how weak she felt. "After you passed out, Ravel brought you here, practically woke up half of the Apollo cabin, and then stalked off to do Underworld-y stuff," He informed her. "Oh, my name's Will, by the way. Will Solace. And you are...?"
----Most Hunters would have made a snide remark, but Illori was slightly past that stage. She could tell the guy meant no harm, and that he honestly just wanted to help. "Illori," She mumbled, nibbling on the ambrosia, savoring it. "Illori...Contraire."
----"That's a nice name," Will nodded, the honesty in his voice too hard to miss. "So anyway, Illori, I noticed there was, well, something odd about your sudden collapse. The-"
----Illori's head snapped up, red eyes meeting with blue. "Someone checked me over?" She stated in a deadly hiss.
----"It was a girl!" Will backed away a bit. The son of Apollo regained his composure as he noticed Illori visibly relax, continuing. "My half-sister, Naomi, did a, well, scan. Something about your symptoms..." He trailed off.
----Illori tensed, waiting for it. The calm before the storm. Will's blue eyes widened, shaking his head. "Sorry, sorry. We didn't tell anyone. I'm guessing it was a mortal hospital, and the scar on your chest Naomi mentioned was the cause of it," He said it in a gentle, apologetic tone.
----Illori let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping. Her crimson eyes usually scared the crud out of people, but when they met with Will's blue orbs, this time they weren't sending a glare of pure hatred. "People will assume that I broke my vows, somehow placated Artemis, and ran away," Her mouth twisted into a bitter smile. "Thank you for keeping my secret."
----Will shrugged nonchalantly. "No problem. Doctor patient relationships require secrecy. Spreading rumors is the Aphrodite demigods' job. Anyway...if you think you can stand up and walk for a bit without passing out again, one of my siblings can take you out for the tour."

***

----Illori had to admit that the camp had changed very little since she had last visited. Even so, it was going to take some time finding her way around. Naomi, Will's half-sister, had cheerfully volunteered to tour her around. Illori caught some odd looks from people now and then (she was still wearing Hunter gear), but she and Naomi were mostly ignored as they roamed the place. They were passing the cabins, headed for the Big House, when Illori saw him in the corner of her eye. Staying in the shadows with a glowering look on his face, but yeah, still there.
----For the first time in Therion's short life, he was thrown against a cabin wall (he decided it was Demeter's) and held at sword point. It wasn't exactly a highlight of his life. He grunted, his eyes refocusing to recognize who exactly did it. Oh Hades, the girl was awake. Cries of astonishment were heard, but Therion paid them no heed. The red eyes that were burning a hole through his own cool, gray ones were pretty much taking all of his attention.
----Suddenly, the girl let him go, letting him drop to the ground with a grimace. One of his ribs were broken. Definitely. An Ares demigod called out gleefully, "Hey, Capture The Flag's tonight! Save the fighting for then!"
----Illori let them see her red eyes and they froze, and scampered off like a little mouse. She returned her gaze to the injured Therion, who was clutching at his chest. "If you ever touch me again without permission, I will kill you, and make your death very memorable."
----Therion blinked, his eyes clouding over. "Is that a threat, Jungle Girl Scout?"
----This time, Illori didn't take the bait. She smiled coldly before speaking. "Maybe, Green Shadow Boy."
----"Oh, that is just low," Therion shot back as he got to his feet.
----"Not as low as you."
----"Naaah, I'm pretty sure the Underworld is lower."
----"Go to Tartarus."
----"That's just original."
----"Because your Underworld comment was totally original."
----"Mhm mhm," Therion winced at the throbbing pain. Damn, this girl could hit hard. "If you could excuse me, I need to get to the infirmary."
----"The Hades is going on in here? Theo?" An irritated voice cut through their banter.
----Illori and Therion turned to see a very confused Nico di Angelo. Oh, Hades.
----Illori glanced at Nico, looked back at Therion, and set her jaw. "You. Me. Capture The Flag tonight," She simply said before stalking off.
----Nico di Angelo stared at his younger brother for a moment. "Will told me you brought a demigod here in the middle of the night."
----Therion nodded. "Yeah. She doesn't like me much."
----"That, I can tell from the way you're clutching at your chest like you've broken a rib," Nico replied dryly.
----Normally his half-brother wasn't sarcastic, tending to be blunt when he spoke. It was a different case when it came to his half-siblings, however. Therion sighed, taking an unsteady step forward. "Are you going to help me or are you just going to stand there?" He demanded.
----Nico shrugged, grabbing his brother's arm and slinging it over his head. "So...you're going to get your ass kicked by a retired Hunter tonight at Capture The Flag?"
----"She's retired?" Therion paused in surprise. "Thought Artemis didn't allow that."
----Nico laughed darkly, an unsettling smile on his face. "It's allowed for special cases like your friend."
----Therion's brow furrowed. He hadn't communed with the dead to look around for info on the girl yet, but he'd been planning on it. Probably slipped his mind. "She's most definitely not my friend. She nearly skewered me with her sword last night."
----It was Nico's turn to be surprised. He quickly recovered, however. "Then, I'll be looking forward to watching you two fight."
----"And so am I," Therion replied truthfully.