Snowy Nightmares

//If we can each the goal, I can make this a full time thing and keep pumping out four chapters a day. If you can, feel free to donate. No pressure though. We're making amazing progress.

3-4 Chapters onto P@treon today.

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Goal: $224/$400

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That night, Chion had a dream. Well, less of a dream and more like something from a nightmare.

He was back at the hill, the same one where the Pine tree had stood, tall and proud. Only this time, there was no Pine Tree, only a never-ending downpour of rain even worse than the one Chion faced when confronting the Hellhounds. The ground was caked with a mixture of water and dirt, making traversal difficult, a feeling the white-haired youth remembered quite well. In the stead of the pine tree were four individuals of differing ages, sprinting for all they were worth. Though they looked slightly different from what Chion was used to, the youth was able to recognize two of the four.

Lightning flashed throughout the area, illuminating the world around them. Towards the bottom of the hill, some ways away, Chion could make out a number of fast-moving targets as well as some slow, clambering ones.

Monsters.

The familiar snarling and growling pierced through the pounding of descending liquid, followed closely by screams of rage that seemed to emanate from hell itself. Chion wasn't even really there, and he could feel fear ebbing its way through him, his blood pumping, urging him to turn tail and flee. The more seconds that passed by, the closer the beasts from hell got, giant figures with only one eye lumbering into the picture, giant bats that looked like if old ladies were naked and had leathery bat wings leading the charge. It was as if the underworld had split open and spit out all it could.

The group was sitting there, at the top of the hill. Chion wasn't close enough, but it sounded like they were arguing. A black haired girl, the same one the youth had seen in his vision, was screaming at the other two over the roaring rain.

Telling them to run and save themselves. Spear clutched in hand, it looked as if she was going to stay behind to fight.

A younger version of Annabeth, the unmistakable blonde hair and frame, clutched onto the older girl, unwilling to let go. However, she was yanked away when Luke, a younger and less scarred Luke, grabbed her by the collar. It seemed that, despite his obvious hatred for the situation, he was going along with the black-haired girls' plan. Pulling her away, kicking and screaming, Luke and the other unknown figure quickly fled further into the area, towards the safety of Camp Half-Blood.

(("They're actually gonna leave her behind?")) Chion took a few steps forward, momentarily forgetting it was just a dream. (("But she'll die!!"))

It wasn't as if the youth couldn't see why the girl was doing it, especially since the situation looked pretty hopeless. No items, no escape routes, nothing to work with. If they had all stayed or continued to run together, they would have ALL died, so Chion was more than capable of understanding what was happening. He just couldn't accept that outcome. And if he couldn't accept it, he who had no connection to the girl whatsoever, he could only imagine what the others were going through having to leave her behind. The girl was going to die there unless a miracle happened.

A miracle never came though.

The mysterious female clenched the spear in her hand and stood down the monsters as they approached, never wavering from her spot at the top of the hill.

As they swarmed her, all Chion could do was watch as they ferociously attacked. Some of the beasts went down, but there were far too many to fight against before the girl was far too wounded to stand on her own two feet.

It was the end. Or at least that's what Chion was prepared for. What he got instead was a blast of bright light and a rapid forming plant, the girls body taking the shape of an abnormally tall pine tree. The tree hummed with power, standing tall in its place. As the monsters tried to ignore the now transfigurated teenager, they were halted in their tracks, the tree preventing them from going any further.

And just like that, Chion woke up from the dream.

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Heart beating like crazy and sweat covering his body, the white-haired teen sat up. He tried not to make too much noise from his position on the floor, but it was admittedly hard not to as he got up and moved to the door, backpack in hand. As far as he was concerned, he was going to put that entire dream on the backburner until he could ask Annabeth or Luke the awkward question of what exactly he had seen. Which would probably happen close to never.

It seemed more than a tad personal. If they wanted to tell him, then they would. He wasn't going to pry.

He didn't know what time it was, but Chion was more than certain he wasn't getting any more sleep for the next few weeks, so he opted to get an early start on the day. Tackling what he had learned and what he was planning on learning was the main priority.

Taking a quick shower, a surprisingly hot one at that, Chion got changed and headed towards the forest.

He didn't want anyone seeing him or getting caught in the crossfire.

He was going to put the vision Hestia showed him to work and, if he was lucky, would potentially learn enough to be of use against the Hunters Of Artemis.

(("Problem is that I don't know what the heck that vision is supposed to mean.")) Chion found a comfortable spot on top of Zues' fist and carefully sat down. (("The black haired me pointed to his chest. Maybe he was referring to my heart? If that was actually me or some version of me, then it should have been a clue only I know. Maybe he was referring to my emotions or my core itself?"))

Closing his eyes, the youth let out a slow breath, inhaling and exhaling in controlled sets, focusing his mind less on the external environment and trying to feel inner workings of his own body. The blood pumping through his veins, heart pounding in his ears, the feel of every muscle whenever he so much as twitched. He calmed himself and his breathing until his heartbeat slowed to a crawl. It was then that he managed to feel it, the power he had used when he had fought the birds and when he had been assaulted by the Aries children. It was faint, but it was definitely there, hidden somewhere in the depths of his core, near his heart.

He just couldn't reach it yet.

Chion grit his teeth and pushed for it, reaching a metaphorical hand towards the energy source, and, with enough persistence, he managed to grab a small chunk of it.

"CHION!!" The sound of a girl cut through the youths concentration, immediately forcing him to open his eyes. "COULD YOU LOSE THE BLIZZARD??!!"

He hadn't actually noticed anything odd, having been so focused on trying to garner his own inner workings, but the moment he could see, Chion saw the problem. It was like a snowstorm had hit, snow covering the ground, trees, rocks, and everything else within half a mile of his position, three inches of it slathered as far as the eye could see. Within the middle of the storm, standing a bit away from where Chion was sitting was Annabeth, of whom was easily spotted due to the blue hoodie she was currently wearing. It was still relatively dark out, but the youth could see everything quite well.

"Oh. Annabeth." Chion took his hands apart and calmly hopped off the rock and stepped through the layers of snow. Though his shoes dipped into the pile, it didn't feel cold or wet for some reason. "When did you get here?"

"I went to give you your hoodie back" She answered, shaking off the snow that had built up on her. "Some of them said you went into the forest. Seemed logical that you'd come here."

"Makes sense." Chion glanced her up and down. "Maybe you should keep it for now though."

"Yeah, I think I'll do that," she responded snarkily. "You need to stop blasting everything with snow."

"Dang...that's kinda cold man."

"Hardy har har."

"What time is it anyways?" Chion began the trek back towards the camp, not heading to the Cabin but more of a casual stroll. "Do you know what time the Hunters are supposed to show up?"

Annabeth seemed like there was more she wanted to say, but she simply let it go. "They're already here. That's the only reason I'm awake."

"Wait, when did they get here?" The youth stopped in his tracks. "I thought they wouldn't be here until later. I was hoping we could go over the strategy one final time."

"Well we can't. Better get everything in order Brain Freeze." Annabeth separated from him, walking in a direction of her own. "I'll see you at breakfast."

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