Frozen Over

//First chapter of my Danmachi Fanfic drops in just a few hours on my Patre0n. It has a total of 4,000 words. I worked hard on it so I think it's probably even better than FrostBitten.

Anyways, help me reach my goal of making this full time? We're almost there. More chapters for FrostBitten will drop tomorrow.

Patre0n.com/ShadowDrev

Goal: $240/$400

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"Thalia Grace?" Chion unzipped his backpack and began taking a few snacks such as oreos, twinkies, and Snickers. "Black hair, looks like she could beat your ass, punk rock look?"

"How do you-"

"Never met 'er." The youth unwrapped one of the twinkies and stuffed the cellophane wrapper into his pocket. "Continue."

"You're just gonna say that and skate over it?" Annabeth scowled, eyes locking onto his. "Explain."

"After you finish your story, I'll tell you mine." Chion took a bite from his sweets. "Don't let me interrupt."

"You're infuriating."

"So I've heard. Now spill."

Annabeth let out a frustrated huff before diving into her own rough backstory, starting from the ripe old age of seven, the very moment when she had ran away from home and began fending for herself with nothing but Athena's guidance and a abnormally large hammer.

For a few months, that's all she did, survive as best she could whilst fending off monsters and scrounging up some food to sustain herself. At least until she met Luke and Thalia in a place called Richmond Ironworks, in which case they sort of adopted her and let her become a part of their wandering. From there, they continued on the run, slaying monsters and making hideouts along the East Coast, eventually meeting Hermes and even the Hunters of Artemis along the way.

Eventually, the trio ran into a satyr named Grover Underwood and were told of a place that was safe for Demigods, where the monsters could hardly get to them. Leading the way, the four of them began the long stretch to their destination, chased up and down by monsters of all kinds, a number of which that were even sent by Hades himself. Admittedly, Grover took some wrong turns and led them into a den of Cyclopes, beasts with immense strength, and only one eye, but they were able to escape. However, the distraction allowed the other pack of monsters to catch up to them. That's about when Annabeths backstory synced up to the vision Chion had been shown via Hestia, about how they couldn't make it through and Thalia had to stay back to hold them off.

All in all, it was a tragic story filled with suffering and regret. Even if it was extremely summarized, Chion could tell how much pain the young blonde had experienced and was no doubt still experiencing, evidenced by the trembling of her voice.

In comparison to his own short story, his might as well have been a walk through a calm oasis.

"So that ring....." Chion waited until she had finished before asking.

"Is my father's," Annabeth responded, shooting down the youths theory. "He sent this to me a while back. He wants me to go back home and live with him again. But it's not something I can do."

"Why not?"

"Would you go back to a place that hates you, even if they claimed, swore up and down that they didn't?"

"Your father hates you?"

Annabeth didn't reply.

Chion frowned for a bit as he thought for a second, his mind racing at millions of frames per second. After a few moments, he came to a conclusion and stood up from the ground.

"Come with me." The white-haired youth offered out a hand to the sitting blonde.

"What?" Annabeth was more than a bit confused, grey hues latching onto his outstretched arm. "And go where?"

Chion merely smiled. "To have some fun, obviously."

Tentatively, the young girl reached out and grabbed the boys hand, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. She stumbled for the briefest moments, but Chion made sure she was balanced before letting go of her hand. Grinning, he turned around and gestured for her to follow him, breaking into a run. Annabeth was definitely at a loss for words but she quickly followed after the bright haired male, a load of questions coursing through her mind.

Just a while ago, she was being told that her fate had completely changed course and that she now had to go on a quest she hadn't truly been mentally prepared for. From the depressed and anxious mindset to a much more upbeat and curious one, it was like Chion had used some sort of magic on her, completely shifting her mood with a few jokes and a short story. She hadn't forgotten what the future entailed, but for some reason, she was FAR less worried about it. To make matters even more bizarre, she was actually looking forward to what Chion had in store.

Though that last bit was mainly due to the white-haired youths' weird nature of thinking up fun or mischievous activities.

When they finally came to a stop, they were in front of the Hermes Cabin, all the lights inside were still on despite it already being past curfew. Without a hint of hesitation, Chion gave Annabeth a glance and ran inside. From her position on the outside of the building, the girl could hear loads of banging and shouted cries from shocked campers followed by additional objections. It was only when everything went silent that Annabeth felt slightly anxious. But that didn't last very long. A shout rang out, one that was quickly followed by cheers and maybe a couple of high fives before Chion came stumbling out of the front door, an ear to ear grin on his face. Clutched in each hand, hoisted up high for the world to see, were two pairs of ice skates.

"Hey Annie. Have you ever been Ice Skating before?" Chion let out a slight exhale as he quickly gathered himself. As if on cue, a wave of cold washed over her ever so briefly.

Ignoring the nickname he had just given her, Annabeth nodded. "When the winter hits, the lake freezes over and allows some of us to skate. Why?"

Chion smirked.

"Wait....you don't plan on-" She opened her mouth and closed it. "Are you even capable of doing that? No way!!"

Before the youth could respond, the rest of the Hermes Cabin blasted through the front door, joyous looks on their face as they clambered over one another. Even if it was curfew, they didn't seem to care, even Luke making his way out, guiding them and making sure they didn't hurt themselves. In almost all of their hands, they had pairs of ice skates.

"Well. How about it?" Chion held one of the skates out to her. "You up for the challenge? May not get this chance again. The naiads get especially grumpy whenever I freeze their lake over. I'll probably lose my desert privileges for a week."

"I guess we'll have to join you in that punishment."

A big and powerful arm touched Annabeth on the shoulder as a few figures walked on by. Judging by their frames and where they were coming from, they were from the Hephaestus Cabin. Just like the Hermes Cabin, they also held ice skates.

(("Did everyone know about it?")) Annabeth questioned as she looked around, spying a number of other campers slipping out of their buildings. (("How?"))

"Jack Frost over here said that he wanted to cheer you up." Clarisse walked on by, ice skates in hand. For once, she didn't have an angry look on her face. "Said you needed it. So, be thankful, Miss Princess."

"Well, I don't know about cheering her up," Chion said. "But it is true I gathered them together. If you're going on a dangerous mission than you might not get another chance like this. Wanted to start things off with a bang."

Annabeth didn't say anything. Instead, she punched Chion in the shoulder.

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It was pretty much the entire camp that showed up, which was surprising since a number of them who never broke the rules were actively choosing to defy the curfew. Though winter would be happening some time in the near future, it was obvious that the vast majority didn't want to wait that long.

Moving to the edge of the lake, Chion knelt down and ran his hand over the surface of the water, feeling the temperature of it with the tips of his fingers. With a nod of his head, he glanced back at the campers and gave them a thumbs up. Annabeth didn't know what that meant, but a cheer rang through the crowd as the white-haired youth took a step onto the surface of the lake. Instead of sinking upon contact, the moment Chions bare foot connected with the body of water, it immediately turned to ice and began spreading outwards in all directions. The more he walked, the further the ice went and the thicker it became. When Annabeth tapped the freshly made ice with her skate and even put her full weight on it, it didn't even make a sound.

(("An ice skating rink near the end of fall...")) The young girl shook her head. (("Only that idiot would think up something like this."))

When a few minutes had transpired, Chion came walking back, not even so much as stumbling over what had to be some slippery ice. To everyone else, it looked as if he was walking on dry land.

"Well? What're you guys waiting for?"

That was all everyone needed to hear as they poured forward, skating out onto the ice. A number of them fell right away but most seemed to know what they were doing. For the most part, everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives, as if it was a party happening underneath the full moon.

"So, you put all this together just to cheer me up?" Annabeth questioned as she slid around the barefoot youth, skating with ease. "You're such a sap."

"Says the one whose all cheered up," Chion rebutalled. "Not my fault you're easy to please. Plus I obviously did it for me so I can see how fast I could freeze the lake over."

"Riigggggghhhtt. Whatever you say Brain Freeze."

Chion smirked as he allowed himself to drift along the ice, using his powers to skim over the top layer of the lake. "It doesn't matter. Just take today to unwind and forget about your worries."

Annabeth calmly circled the ice mage and shoved on his chest, causing him to fall on his ass. "Oh believe me. I'm enjoying myself plenty."