Come away little light, Come away to the darkness

Rumors had been flying around all morning and afternoon about everything that was happening. From what the issue was and how they were going to solve it. First for the last two days demigods from Camp Jupiter and Camp Half blood had been going missing and there was no sign of them. It was unusual and odd. A few older demigods had gone out to look for them assuming they were lost. The word slowly developed into a monster that was hunting demigods and devouring them. It sounded like an old story your parents would tell you to make you behave but nothing was ever like that in the world of a demigod.

Now almost going into the evening as the last few glimpses of light could be made and soon the sun would be at rest for the night, a group of demigods from both camps had become a group out to hunt down this monster that was around and put an end to it all. They were out near the forest where there had been previous evidence that some of the demigods had been there or where they were last seen.

However as the sun had gone down slowly, Nika could feel the temperature drop and it was getting colder. Although the cold of the fall didn't really phase her, especially where she had grown up previously. Scanning the groups of people she was wondering if she could see anyone she knew in the group of Greeks, although she doubt she would have. As her eyes scanned she saw Dimitri. It had been awhile since their last encounter which had been in the summer. Now it was at least a month later. It was weird to think that just a month ago, he saw her broken down, but she also saw a bit of him she had never thought she'd see. These days she had wondered how he was.

Soon everyone was set off to work and try to find the beast that was causing havoc.

"What do you think it is?" A curious voice asked, one with quite a passion for animals. The feminine voice belonged to Dakota, a daughter of Asclepius in her later teens. Her brunette hair was dark and wavy, and its color matched her eyes perfectly. She was determined, but very stubborn. Dimitri hardly knew her, but she wanted to be a part of the investigation. Dimitri suspected that she might not be the best person to have watching your back.

"I don't know. Nobody knows. It could be anythin'." Dimitri was in a state of frustration, though he did well in hiding it. "It could be smart or clueless. Either way, I reckon if it likes the taste of demigod then it ain't goin' anywhere. We'll find it." Dimitri said, with more assertion than his former self would have.

"And what do we do if it isn't a monster? What if it's just misunderstoo-" Dakota didn't stop speaking because she was cut off, but it was from the wild glare Dimitri shot at her. "I- I'm sorry." She said in a hesitant voice. Dimitri simply didn't look at people with malevolent or angered expressions, but in the moment, it simply happened.

"As much as I'd like to think it's some animal out here and the demigods are just wanderin' off, I think we've both seen enough to know that just ain't what happens. Something is huntin' us, so now we have to hunt it. It ain't pretty, I know, but it's necessary. Get Jerry to draw a map of the area so there's no surprises." Dimitri spoke his request as though it was an order, one which Dakota simply nodded her head to. She gave him a look, but Dimitri had enough bad terrain experiences to know to expect nature to be against him. Dakota nodded again slowly and walked off to obey.


Dimitri wasn't in particular thrilled to see Dominika, one of the few children of Jupiter. She was brave, strong, and able to handle anything. The definition of a true warrior. They had shared some damaging emotional moments, and although Dimitri considered them close friends, it was that bond that made him hesitant to be around her now. In less than a full season, Dimitri knew he'd changed a fair amount. It made it difficult to face his closest allies, knowing they may no longer look at him the same way again. He wasn't so different, but he knew he wasn't the same any longer.

The last time he'd seen the daughter of Jupiter, he was sobbing in the middle of a storm with the revelation that his life was simply a ham on a rope surrounded by hungry dogs. He'd since put effort into his fighting and powers like never before. And his fear, along with his good nature, was beginning to be replaced with something else.

"Dominika." Dimitri said, approaching her under what was almost moonlight. He wasn't thrilled, as a matter of fact, he was almost worried about talking to her. But, he was smart enough to know that if anyone was leading the Romans in their effort, it was certainly Dominika. In the moment, he was torn between asking her how she had been or asking her for her help immediately. He couldn't bring himself to relive the events of before though. "I need your help. One of my people thinks they saw somethin' up on the hill. There are more Romans than Greeks here at the moment, and if we move up on all sides we might be able to corner it here and now."

Dominika, was the leader type and despite taking some form of charge in the mission they were on today, she wasn't the head honcho. In reality she was just an average camper in cohort three. She knew in the Greek camp, she'd be treated highly for being a child of the big three but in the Roman world, no one cared about your status, everyone had to work their way up and prove themselves. That was simply the Roman way. Strict rules, hard work, and dedication. She couldn't say she followed strict rules a lot of the time, she just did her own thing.

Although after seeing Dimitri last, she just had the memories of the way he seemed pained then. She wasn't able to help him then and she wasn't sure she could help him with those problems now. It pained her a great deal to know that he had suffered that day but it pained her more to know there was nothing she could do. Pushing the thoughts away for the present she was getting geared up when Dimitri came over to talk to her and ask her for help. Listening intently to his request she nodded and grabbed her weapon and stood up. "Alright, lets end this thing tonight." She said with a smirk on her face.

As they walked on toward the hill, Nika fell back a bit to walk along side with Dimitri. She wanted to ask him how he was since that one day but she wasn't sure if now was the time, if he was distracted that could prevent from a good turn out so Nika decided to ask something else so it didn't look weird that she was walking with him for no reason. Were they friends? She would consider him one, but she treated him like such sh*t last time she wouldn't blame him for hating her. "So what do you think we're dealing with?"

Dimitri walked with a brisk pace, watching his step. There was a time when he watched his step with fear, after two separate incidents with bear traps, though it was now something of a subconscious habit that he carried. He didn't take point when it came to the Greeks, the person who was officially leading the task force was at the head of the group. Dimitri had earlier caught a glare his way from the other boy, Joseph. They'd once been good friends, though lately it was clear that he didn't much care for Dimitri's more recent attitude. His long-standing good morals and helpful nature had earned him plenty of trust and favor at Camp Half-Blood, enough that many people would listen to what he had to say.

Dimitri's head tilted from the path to Dominika, and then shortly it returned to the path ahead. Many of the times he'd spoken to the daughter of Jupiter there was silence before he spoke. He found himself thinking before he spoke, instead of giving her the short typical responses he was growing more and more fond of. "I don't know." He replied, in a short tone. "I'm hopin' that it's somethin' that doesn't know who's comin' for it. Hopefully we can just get it over with."

He didn't ask her what she thought of it, his mood was too sour as of late to do so. He figured that she would share her thoughts if she desired to. He kept his focus on the task ahead, a bitter expression was molded onto his face.

Listening to his reply she could tell this wasn't the same Dimitri she had met back on Temple hill, but at the same time, she knew almost everything he has gone through since then, and she couldn't help but have a small twinge of empathy for him. Nika brushed it off though and she sighed, "For everyone's sake I hope you're right, Dimitri." She said looking up at the bright moon in the sky.

"I think it may be something worse off though." She said as they started to near the hill more and her mind set changed to be in focus now. Before something happened she turned her head to face him and she opened her mouth to speak but no words came out yet. She wasn't sure if what she wanted to say now would be good but she mentally shook the questioning thoughts away. "If you need to talk to someone, Dimitri I am here for you and we can talk after we're done here if you so wish." Nika said with a little bit of worry expressed on her face, but not for long as she switched mind sets to prepare herself for anything that could come her way.

Dimitri's head tilted in response to Dominika's offer to talk if he so needed it. She wasn't the first person to attempt to talk to him about how his behavior was changing. At camp, he would generally attempt to tell his friends that he was just fine. It was among the first times he had lied about something ever, it hadn't turned out to be as hard as he'd imagined it. He felt remorse the first few times he'd lied about his state, though it became less and less hard on the demigod until the feeling was entirely consumed under the rest of his now dull emotions. Though, when it came to Dominika, he didn't lie. He didn't know what to say, and so he didn't say anything. All he could offer her was a nod of understanding in response.

Dimitri's next words were to the two people behind him. "Dakota, Sam, you two should circle 'round the right flank to keep this thin' from runnin'. Be careful of any drops on the side've the hill, fallin' thirty feet ain't fun." Dimitri said, and the two obeyed him with no argument, and took off on a path to the right. When Dimitri turned back forward, the remaining two Greeks besides him were both turned around looking at him, the line of demigods had halted.

"Are you done giving my task force orders yet?" The boy in the front asked him, clearly displeased by the tone of his voice and the glare in his eyes. Dimitri returned the glare, as though it was some instinct hiding deep within him.

"That was the right call to make. What're you thinkin', let's just play tag with the animal that devours us? Everyone knows predators typically move fast." Dimitri argued rebelliously against Joseph, who in turn began approaching him. "We have a job t'do, so put aside your pride and keep walkin'." Dimitri said with ferocity in his voice. He stepped in front of Joseph and Jerry and took point for the Greeks.

"When we get back to camp, I'm taking you to Chiron and we're going to have a nice chat." Joseph promised to Dimitri, who at this point was walking once more. "Sorry you had to see that, I promise that he doesn't define what our kind is." Joseph muttered to the Romans, leaving Dimitri's fists to clench.

The demigod managed to keep himself composed enough to not strike the person talking down to him; their target was close.

Dominika watched as the Greeks spoke to one another. It was different as opposed to how the Romans did it but as the Greeks had asked for the help of the Romans, they weren't going to butt into their problems, especially not child play. Seeing how the Greeks were so easy to blame each other Nika could spot the weakness in their group, and that was why more time than others big groups were a bad idea. If everyone was more likely to grow bonds and team build it'd go more smoothly but she wasn't about to judge the Greeks. They had their ways and the Romans had their own.

Noticing his fists clenching up due to what the supposed leader had said. Dominika had rested her hand on his fist. She wasn't one for contact, but with Dimitri things were a little different. She was so broken last time that she was able to have him hold her in his arms, and she felt what an embrace was like. What it was like for someone to care for you, unlike her past horrors. "Just calm, he's not worth it." She said very softly and quietly as it was almost a whisper in his ear. She didn't know how he'd respond to it but that was her reaction. Watching as the leader greek began to call out more orders, finally Nika had a task of her own.

Her task was to be in the front lines with a bunch of others composed of Greeks and Romans both. Walking up the slope she began to get a bit anxious, she stayed composed on the outside however. She didn't want to be eaten alive today, if that was going to be the case.

Dimitri could only find another look to give to Dominika when she whispered for her to be calm. His head titled once more, and his expression was full of uncertainty and confusion, with the leftover disgust for Joseph fading for the moment. He didn't understand why she was trying to help him, it left him with a sense of unknowing. They were friends, but Dimitri was beginning to have problems when it came to any fondness for human beings. "Dominika, why are you-" Dimitri began to ask her why she was trying to protect him, but ultimately Joseph began talking again and it was clear that he wouldn't get to talk to the daughter of Jupiter until all of this was over.

What softness had appeared on his face quickly faded when he again was addressed by his superior. It didn't come as a surprise to him that he was supposed to be behind the front line, a form of shaming to keep him away from his goal of ending this monster. He was "better off letting the others deal with it and healing those who needed it" according to his leader. Dimitri stood behind the line, unhappily waiting for whatever events were soon to unfold.

It was at that moment, approaching, that something did appear barreling towards them. It looked like an iguana almost, with some noteable differences. The biggest difference was its size; it looked to be bigger than the average lion. It had actual ears on it too, though ironically they were where an iguana's eyes would normally be, and the ears were larger than most monster's Dimitri had ever seen before. The green nightmare of a creature also had six legs, and the spines under its chin and on its back looked like they were much more deadly than the average iguana's. He could only imagine what its mouth looked like, though he could hope it was simply the tongue and no teeth like most reptiles.

Sadly, that wasn't the case.

The mega-iguana let out a loud roar, revealing a mouth full of shark-like teeth, and even still, a reptile tongue did seem to hang from its mouth. The monster spent no time before charging towards the line of weapons and shields.

Taking in a deep breath as she walked on with the front line towards where the beast should be soon. Well sooner came rather than later as the foul beast can charger out. Nika felt it was difficult to keep composure as she saw the massive thing. This was ten times more frightening than the robotic fire breathing unicorn. This thing looked like it could wipe out the whole front line in at least two swipes. They didn't have enough demigods for this, and Nika could tell. This beast was far more terrifying than she had imagined.

Getting a good grip on her shield but not too tight she placed it in front of her, as well as having her spear with the glistening imperial gold tip. Her heart thudded against her chest as she awaited it's attack. Soon it let out a roar and she could smell the nasty stench of the beasts breath. You could tell, this thing was a demigod eater.

As the animal charged Nika held her spear firm and out when the beast came in close. A few weapons had sunk into the beasts skin and when the demigods ripped it from it's skin all together at once the beast howled with dismay and seemed even more pissed off than before. Nika now got back into a defensive stance to see what this creature would do next.

Dimitri watched the scene as though he was a movie critic scanning the scenes of a movie. The monster was huge, and with the teeth it had, Dimitri was certain they found their target. A random fact had occurred to Dimitri, something he never thought about anymore. He still had the calling card that Katarina had given him, long ago when his emotions burned for her. Lately he had stopped thinking about her so much, it only pained him when he did. He made peace with the fact that she had a family to be with, and that it wasn't fair of him to try to take her away from that. But he still had the card, and if he was only sure how it worked, he would have used it. It looked like it was a good time to have hunters around.

The monster's tail swiped accross the line, knocking some unsuspecting demigods to their feet. Dimitri might have figured the jugular was a good place to aim for, had their not been spikes in that area. In either case, the demigod made his choice to get off the bench and into the fight. He knew he would get hell for it later, but all it took was one good move for this monster to get the advantage. Dimitri wasn't ready to hand over a buffet to this iguana.

Helping a Roman up to his feet, Dimitri caught the glimpse in the corner of his eye of the iguana picking up a shield and chewing on it, spitting it out a moment later. The shield was no longer in one piece, however. That's when Dimitri let it click in his head finally; it couldn't see. It relied solely on touch, taste, and hearing. As a reptile-like monster, he wasn't sure if it could smell or not. Either way, its primary sense was clearly its ears.

"It's the ears!" Dimitri exclaimed over the commotion; the monster was charging back towards the line. In theory, talking was only helping the monster pin their location. But to display the information was worth it in Dimitri's mind. "Take the ears out and this thing is worthless!" Dimitri attempted to strafe around the monster, but it only earned him a tail swipe to the body.

Seeing the tail come towards Nila's section, she tried to jump over but it just knocked her farther away. Hitting the side of the hill with a thud, she felt the pain surge through her body and only knew this was going to hurt in the morning. Groaning she slowly picked herself up and began to move closer a bit. Hearing something faint in the background about ears, she looked up to observe the beast.

It didn't seem to have eyes, not any that it was using. Perfect, thanks to the voice she heard it gave her a good indication on what to go for, if only she could get such accuracy for the ears. Nika had began to pull a bloody brave move at this point and she charged at full speed ahead, taking quick steps as quietly as she could. She was prized for her speed and defensive stances. When she saw it try to bat her with it's paw, she hit the ground to avoid the attack and got up again.

This time she used the force of her body and she leaned into the attack going for the ear like the voice had said to. The spear dug deep into the ear canal and blood began to ooze out as the iguana beast screeched a high pitch screech, that almost made Nika lose all sense of her hearing herself. The pounding in her own ears grew and all she could hear was ringing. She had lost her hearing for the time being. It was difficult to use her other senses and she was so disoriented she forgot she had never let go, and that's when creature batted her off with its talons and she was knocked to the ground.

Dominika could feel the gashes in her back as her own blood slowly began to well up. At this point she wanted to stay on the ground but she knew that meant defeat. She got up onto one knee to wince a bit and take a sharp breath in before standing up fully. She lost her weapon for the time being, but the beast was so distraught that it was just charging randomly into campers.

The demigod kept his stance pacing behind the others, despite helping those out who had fallen. He was ordered to stay behind front lines, after all. He watched Dominika charge towards the monster, leaving a very unpleasant sound when she pierced the eardrum of the monster. The roar that it echoed out was even less pleasant that the sound of the piercing itself, although one thing was good for the group; this monster's primary sense was crippled now.

Dimitri darted over to the daughter of Jupiter, securing he by putting his hands on her shoulders. In the moment, it had completely slipped his mind that she was not okay with physical contact. He looked her in the eyes, holding her up. It was clear simply from her expression that she was disoriented, and at least under some painful discomfort. The blood that was coming from her back wasn't a good sign in particular. "Dominika, you need to hold on!" Dimitri called to her, despite being directly in front of her. "Don't risk it." He warned her in a pleading but serious tone, and then slowly released her, so that if she was depending on him to stand, she wouldn't fall. He turned back to the now-even-more-ballistic monster.

The heat of combat left Dimitri in a temporary state of adrenaline and instinct, and although he was ordered to stay put, he realized he was going to break the orders when he spotted Dakota coming from behind the monster. Having the thing surrounded by demigods would be purely beneficial to the team. Dimitri made the rough choice of using water now, even thought it would be exhausting to use later to heal everyone. The second the monster turn to face Dakota, Dimitri was willing from the water he always carried with him, a small flow of water into the monster's second ear. It would be enough to muffle what little hearing it had left.

"Turn it onto it's stomach! Reptiles gener'lly have a weakness there!" Dimitri called out to no one in particular. If things went well, it would be checkmate.

The ringing in her ears were still blatant and she could hardly make out sounds. While she had been regaining her balance and standing up again, she felt something touch her shoulders and she became very alarmed. Her eyes grew bigger as she started to frantically go through in her mind what to do, or what to say. He had been facing her now and she looked at him in the eyes with a worried and pained expression on her face. She couldn't hear anything and the warmth on her back wasn't because she had a heater near her or just insane body heat.

Not before long Dimitri's lips were moving and she could barely make out the sounds and her worried and pained expression mixed with confusion. "I don't have a weapon anyway." She called out but spoke in almost yelling due to the fact she couldn't hear herself to check for her volume. Nika wanted desperately to be able to just go to him and tell him she was scared but she couldn't force herself to do it, she'd just be weak, and no one wanted that in a leader.

She took his advice either way knowing if she couldn't hear properly there was no point in being in the front line for the moment. Soon as Dimitri was calling out some things to the people in the front line, you could see them all at work. Eventually after a few fails they got the reptile on its back and a bunch of Romans and Greeks pierced the underneath until it burst into dust and the beast was tamed. It looked like their job was done for the night.

With the monster now unable to use its ears to move, demigods began to surround it, though the front line primarily began to make a push against the monsters with shields. Dimitri himself moved over the the side of the monster, wrapping his arms on either side of the monster's head to pull it in the direction that the others were pushing it towards. The plan became very unattractive when Dimitri was eye-to-mouth with the monster, and all he could see was a mouth full of vicious teeth. Luckily for the demigod, his instincts had taken over and he pushed through. When the monster was finally on his side, Dimitri kept his grip; as little impact as it was to the monster, the last thing he wanted was to see it get back up.

Shortly afterwards, blades and spears pierced the white soft spot and the monster turned into golden dust. Dimitri was left with cuts around his shoulders and chest from the spikes on the monster, but was satisfied to see the golden dust. Cheers could be heard for what would likely be a fair distance, the demigods were indeed happy with their victory. Dimitri, however, hadn't partaken in cheering for a long time now. He eyed Dakota who had somehow ended up at the tail-end of the monster and spoke up. "Help the wounded." Dimitri plainly insisted.

Dimitri made his way back to Dominika. The cheering was continuing on, despite there being a solid few wounded people. Some of them looked pretty bad, though Dimitri was hopeful the Romans had brought healers of their own. Dimitri could see Joseph knelt onto the ground, doubled over, with Dokata sitting beside him checking him for wounds. Dimitri decided to focus on the daughter of Jupiter, as he still held a soft spot for her in a way. "Be still." Dimitri said, some gentleness resting in his short statement. He took water from his supply, which was already close to being dry, and touched it to her skin. It flawlessly ran down her back and ignored her clothing as though it wasn't there. Her wounds began to close up somewhat and the bleeding slowed down immensely. "The bleedin' will stop shortly. Just take it easy the next couple'a days." The demigod requested. He looked at the daughter of Jupiter, unsure of what to say next. And as had become usual, decided to stay silent.

Not before long victory was to given to the demigods. The cheering could be heard all around and was shouted out into the night. The main priority was getting everyone who had been wounded healed. Nika had been standing watching their victory and was deeply saddened when she was not able to take part in killing the beast, but luckily her move helped get closer to victory.

Eventually Dimitri came back to Nika, and helped heal her. Despite some Greeks being injured he still chose to come help her first, which made her appreciate his actions a lot. It was difficult to tell where the two stood because the last time they were in such a mess of a state that didn't look favorable for their friendship. In these moments where he told her to be still and used his own power to try and close up her wounds a bit, she truly was grateful for it and could tell he still cared, not that she'd have doubted it.

Nika stood still until she heard him mention that she should probably take it easy for the next couple of days. Nika nodded, although she wasn't sure if she could just wait around like that, she was always doing something and to take it easy wasn't something she did well. Sighing she looked over to Dimitri, turning to face him, "Thank you." she said softly and she could feel her heart beat a little bit. Nika had regained back most of her hearing by now. The ringing was gone, but some things were difficult to hear.

"How have you been since I've last seen you?" She asked him hoping he could confide in her, just as she had a month ago. She wanted him to be able to feel safe talking about it but there wasn't much she could do. As much as Nika wouldn't want to admit it out loud, she had a huge soft spot for Dimitri, and she truly and genuinely cared about his well being.

The demigod was worried Dominika might ask him about how things had been. After all, it's what you ask someone you haven't seen recently. He made eye contact with her after she asked, then his eyes reverted to the ground. For someone who was backing down less and less, facing emotions was a much more difficult battle for the demigod. Dimitri stayed silent, as though he'd sworn on Styx to never say another word again. He almost hoped she'd walk away from him, but from the moment they'd met on Temple Hill, they'd shared a strange bond. Dimitri didn't want that bond to just go away. His lips quivered before he spoke, a mix of frustration, unknowing, and dread were in his strangely calm voice.

"That's all people ever ask me now." Dimitri said, finally. His shoulders shrugged, and his eye lacked a brightness that was once nested in them. "It's all I ever hear now. Everyone always askin' and pryin'. And I just, I tell them that everythin' is just fine, that they shouldn't waste their time worryin' 'bout me." At this point, the demigod wasn't looking at the daughter of Jupiter. It just would be too painful. "I know it's because they care and all, and I know they're just try'na look out for me. But, they're just not ready to hear the truth. I can't break it to them." He was speaking calmly, and quietly enough that only Dominika could hear him.

"If you want the truth? I feel stupid for thinkin' things could just work out in this world." Dimitri admitted out loud for the first time. "I've known that I was wrong for a while now. Ever since I stepped into that first trap, I had my doubt about life. 'Bout what it means and how damned we are to be demigods. Then the second one. And that's when I knew that it was all pointless. There is no happy life for any of us. We're all just... f****** animals waiting to be caught and skinned." Dimitri's disobedience of his own rule of cursing was pointless to him now, his voice only came out with angst and anger when he talked about the bear traps and being an animal. He opened his mouth several more times, beginning to speak, but had no more words to bring out. So he eventually gave up on trying to speak.

Hearing the demigod before her speak in such ways, broke her heart in more than one way. All she had ever heard from him before was all about hope and he was so optimistic and lively. To see him in this sort of state was truly devastating, considering she had been doing a bit better in the past month, since she had met the demigod. She fought to keep herself from saying the usual things and she just listened to him and watched him. The sad part of it all, was she knew how he felt. Nika had similar thoughts to those previously before, and to hear someone else have them was her worst nightmare.

Did she teach him to hate the world? Was this her doing? Seeing him struggle to have things to say by the end she wanted to embrace him in a hug but she wasn't sure he'd want attention from others to be put on himself for her hugging him. Nika then softly and loosely too his hand in her own. "Shhh." She said softly to him as she tried to make eye contact with him. "Things look rather grim when you see the world for its' true colours, but you have to learn to adapt and instead of being the prey you have to learn to be the predator but also hold on to your humanity. It will take time, and for awhile maybe several years you'll go on to hate the world, but just know, the world really does seem lighter once you can cope and you can have things and people around you that matter." The daughter of Jupiter finished off very quietly as these words were meant for him only. This was something that would rarely ever happen again. Nika wasn't one for sentiments are a nurturing type but stranger things have happened.

Dimitri let her take his hands, though as a whole, it surprised him, which was nice to feel over the bitterness. He was aware that she wasn't a fan of physical contact unless she initiated it. And although she had been the one to initiate it, he imagined she didn't do this for many people. He listened to what she had to say, though keeping eye contact was a difficult task for Dimitri. He felt as though he stood in front of someone worlds stronger than him, that there was no way he deserved any compassion or care from her. Her judgement meant something to him, which was a rarity in the demigod.

"I'm not the prey anymore. I've done everythin' I can to fight on. I know I can be the predator, I know I can. But I don't know that I can keep anyone close to me. They'll just die..." Dimitri thought of all the demigods he knew. Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter were the only reasons so many of them made it. "I used to..." Dimitri froze up in his words. "I- I used to think I was goin' to return home one day. I kept stallin' it though, takin' on another responsibility. Not believin' I was strong enough to make the trip back home. I kept makin' excuses, and I know why now. It's because I can't have them in my life. They don't understand the real world. Most demigods don't even understand the real world, let along mortals."

Silence overcame him again. He never discussed anything like this with anyone before. "Dominika." Dimitri said her name with a near pleading tone. "What do you have around you that matters?"

Looking at him, she noticed a lot of changes in him, even just in physical appearance he had changed since she had last seen him. Change wasn't bad or anything, it was just different. Nika kept holding on to his hands and as he spoke she squeezed them lightly just so she could let him know that she was hearing what he was saying and just giving him reassurance as he could confide in her. She wanted to help him but she knew this wasn't going to be a short little fix, these things never were. His angst and hatred for the world could grow to so much more than he could ever know. Dominika had been to the darkest spot in her brain before and she used to have the most foul and negative views on the world than ever seen before. However it was the small things that have slowly shifted her mind for awhile and she understood.

"People will die either way Dimitri, everyone slowly ages to their death but the thing is, it is all about the present and now. Why worry so much about the future to the point you can't live in the present and enjoy the moments for what you have. People die, it's the circle of life but if we're afraid of it, then how are we ever to live?" the demigod spoke in such soft tone.

She was a little taken back by him asking her, what she had around her that mattered to her and she gave a small somber smile. "I have myself and you." The daughter of Jupiter was speaking in a hushed tone now, and was hesitant on mentioning him, but that didn't mean she was unsure of it, it was more of her unsure of how he'd react to it. "You matter to me." she muttered out so soft and quiet it would hardly be audible if at all.

The softness and caring in Dominika's voice was foreign to Dimitri. They'd shared emotional moments in the past, but never anything like what was going on now. In the past it had been Dimitri to attempt to offer some sort of solace to the daughter of Jupiter, and now everything was in reverse. He'd never taken the time to think about how strange their bond was. Dominika had serious power in her veins, being the daughter of the Roman god of gods. Dimitri, on the other hand, was the son of some storm goddess no one had ever heard of. He was never jealous; he knew that being the child of Zues or Jupiter came with its own set of problems. Even still, there were no two people who were more different than them. And yet, here they were.

Dimitri didn't know where to turn to. He almost felt like he was letting Dominika down in a sense. Every few moments he would create eye contact and then break it by looking at the ground. It had nothing to do with discomfort, the demigod was perfectly comfortable where he stood, but he still found difficulty looking at the daughter of Jupiter. She was strong, resilient, and brave and it made him feel lesser to need the comfort she was giving to him. "You matter to me too." Dimitri replied after a lesser period of silence than was becoming usual to him.

His eyes finally stuck to the ground, and only the ground. This time there was no pause of silence between his words, only a sad sigh from the demigod as he took his hands back from her and turned so he was facing a different direction. "I'm sorry." Dimitri spoke slowly, trying to filter the emotion out of his voice, but failing at it. "You have important stuff to be doin' and I'm over here takin' all your time from you."

Nika watched the demigod in front of her take in the words she said but he wasn't speaking back. He didn't really need to she just felt so much for how he was feeling and she had a sad sigh of her own. When she heard that she mattered to him too, her somber smile had returned onto her face, but was quickly wiped off when he had taken his hands back and he had his back facing towards her. Seeing how much he had changed and they way he thought made her heart ache. It was a foreign feeling for Nika. To have this much feeling and care for another person, not once did she think she would end up meeting someone she could care about or let in for that matter.

The daughter of Jupiter just wanted to make everything feel better even if it was just for a minute. She couldn't help but feel responsible for everything she had done. Showing him the real world was partially her doing and she couldn't take it back no matter how much she tried. She wanted him to have his innocent ideals again, and she wanted him to have that goofy smile on his face but it was all gone. It was replaced by darkness, the very same darkness Dominika held onto for quite a long time. She hadn't fully let go yet and she still had many of her own demons to face but now she felt like she gave Dimitri more than he could handle.

Dominika reached her hand out to try and get Dimitri to come back and look at her and she was about to open her mouth to say something when a scream echoed out through the night and Nika froze in spot. She looked around trying to think of where it was coming from. Her hand dropped back to her side and she cleared her throat. "I think our work isn't done yet."

Dimitri felt a mixture of sensations when the scream sounded. Frustration arose within him; someone was in danger and there was no clear way to find them quickly over the echo over the hills. But on another hand, he was happy his instincts were returning to him and he could once again feel strong. "Yeah, you're right, it ain't." Dimitri said, his head still locked in position overlooking the hills where the scream came from. "I know you don't plan to stay behind, but be careful. You don't want those wounds reopenin'." The demigod gave her his advice, before returning to Joseph, the demigod on charge.

He was barely sitting up with the help of Dakota at this point. "Someone's out there, who is it? And what do you want us to do?" Dimitri asked, urgency laced in his voice. The sooner the Greeks and Romans were on the move, the better for everyone involved. Especially whoever had screamed.

Joseph coughed, his body physically collapsing back to the ground while Dakota scrambled to catch him. "We'll split the groups up so we can cover all ranges. And then... then we'll..." His voice was weak and sickly, Dimitri didn't know what happened to wound him in the battle but it sure didn't look good. When Joseph scrambled to get up, Dimitri's boot met his chest and an enraged look came from his leader.

"You're right. We will search the mountains, but you aren't goin' anywhere 'cause it looks like you're only a few steps away from hell's front porch." Dimitri spoke with ferocity, and although he was severely outranked by Joseph, it wasn't like he had much of a choice but to stay on the ground.

"I think it's Sam, but, I don't know. Her and I split up earlier and I haven't seen her since. She-she heard a noise, we have to go find her." Dakota spoke, clearly still somewhat shaken from the sight of the iguana beast. Dimitri's expression wasn't any pleased, however.

"You split up?" He questioned as though they'd committed the ultimate sin. "I sent you two together specifically 'cause nobody should be wanderin' alone out here right now." Dimitri was quickly thinking about what to do from here. The Romans were already done sorting their wounded and were ready to move. "Okay, I got this. Dakota, I need you to stay absolutely put. The wounded need someone who can take care of them. Whatever you see or hear, you stay with these people. Do you understand?"

Some quick banter continued between Dimitri and the other Greeks, and shortly after the other Romans. They'd split up into groups, and were looking through the hills in no time. The groups weren't far apart, and it was decided they wouldn't go out of ear shot in case one group needed the help of another.

After hearing the scream she watched Dimitri go into action and talking to the Greeks. Nika walked over to where the last monster had died and she picked up her spear. "Hello again." She said quietly to her spear and she went over to her fellow Roman counterparts. They were suiting up and getting their armor back on and preparing for another fight. It'd be nice to get this done and dealt with by the time the sun decided to rise.

Soon everyone had grouped up together and decided to split up into smaller groups to cover more ground. Walking around going up and behind the hill, she was trying to pick up signs of someone being there previously or leaving some sort of a trail. Nika hoped that they could find this girl perfectly intact. Walking alongside a guy from her cohort, Heath, they continued on. There were a few others in their group but Nika was closer to Heath of all the Romans in the group. "What kind of monster do you think it will be this time?" she heard Heath ask, and Nika shrugged.

"Really depends, I couldn't have ever imagined something as terrifying as last time, lets hope it wont be as much work and we can all rest easy for the rest of the night, and make way back to camp in a decent time." She said shrugging her shoulders and continued to walk on her head down a little bit.

They were on the move in no time, various people taking various paths. Dimitri was hoping to have a group of him, Jerry, Dominika, and probably one other Greek that he knew was strong. Unfortunately for him, the strength was spread out among the groups which was for the best. After the sum of people made their choices on who was going, who was staying, and which paths were being taken, they were all gone. Dimitri almost felt a pit of regret in his chest for not saying goodbye to Dominika. He know that he might never see her again, and it made him sick to his stomach to think that his last action to her was to take his hands from her.

But it was too late. They were already on their way.

"Why did you leave Alan behind with Dakota?" Jerry, a son of Ares, asked Dimitri who was honorary-in-charge of the group for at least the time being. Jerry wasn't the typical child of Ares, he kept a cool head and was a real friend to any people, regardless of their views. He'd gotten along with Dimitri well before, and it seemed that bond wasn't too different. To him, it was apparent that he couldn't help Dimitri, so he didn't try.

"Because he's weak. Nothin' is gonna take the wounded and their guardians if they're stationary. That's why we need the strong to keep on pushin'." Dimitri spoke words from his mouth he'd never felt he'd say, but yet they were there. It wasn't malice, for the most part, but more of a sense of responsibility. People would die no matter what, but he could lessen the number of deaths if he made the right choice. It was a burden everyone held, though for Dimitri, he was only just starting to feel the weight.

"That's fair 'nuff. Where d'ya think the scream came from? On that note, d'ya even think Sam is okay?" Dimitri could tell that Jerry was testing him by asking it. It earned the son of Ares a look of mistrust. Dimitri sighed, to him the truth was becoming more apparent with every step over the hill.

Dimitri turned back to the four other people in his group. Save for the two Romans, he knew the other two Greek fairly well and felt that he could speak his mind. "No. I don't. There ain't nobody who screams like that then stops for no reas'n. If they'd just stuck together, we'd all be headin' back for camp. But we should at least find the body, give Dakota and the others some closure."

Just then, a weaker cry came from much closer. The group shared a look, before Dimitri sternly spoke. "Go!" The group moved quickly, passed some trees. Dimitri was aware there was a cliff-side nearing, but the scream was coming from towards it. He wondered if Sam had ran off the side and was hanging onto the cliff. But further inspection proved his hopes wrong, when he spotted the shape of two humans. One was Sam, and she was caught in the pure agony Dimitri knew oh-so-well; a bear trap.

The other one was a stranger, with a strange look on his face.

Walking along back behind the hill they went deeper into the forest. She had been talking to Heath most of the time. There was also, Adrian and Victoria that were roman. There were two Greeks but they decided that the four Romans were good enough and they decided to help with healing.

Heath was a son of Bellona, he stood at about six foot three and probably weighed around two hundred and ten pounds or something. Most of it being muscle. He was quite the sharp looking man. He had dark brown hair that was shaved on the sides and the top was slicked back. He had piercing blue eyes that got anyone's attention. Heath was about the age of eighteen and was an older camper at camp. Heath was a third cohort that Nika had gotten to know a bit ever since that day spent with Dimitri in the rain. Heath was more like an older brother that Nika never had, and she was thankful to have him around.

"So what formation are we doing if it's a monster or several?" Nika asked Heath and looked over at him waiting for a response.

The blue eyes looked back to the daughter of Jupiter and he responded, "It's always best to take a defensive stance when facing a monster you've yet to face, and play the defense until you learn what they can do, but never underestimate them. We'll figure it out." Heath had a goofy grin on his face at this point.

Nika felt some comfort in what he said. Soon enough they heard a few sounds and they were staying on guard. As they quietly and slowly walked through scanning , there was a startled scream that came out of someone's mouth but was cut off abruptly. Looking behind her, to her horror she saw this huge monster about the size of a hippo, eating Adrian. Nika let out a small scream, she was truly terrified. This thing, had a long jaw much like an crocodile and sharp teeth. It had a body of a boar and tusks coming out near it's mouth.

Nika was paralyzed from the fear that had rose up within her. Heath and Victoria tried to help Adrian but he was long gone and they lost a Roman that day. "We have to go!" Victoria shouted and started to sprint, and Heath was about to follow, but Nika was still frozen. "Nika if we don't move we'll be next, we need back up!" Heath shouted and started to pull at her to follow.

Finally Nika started to sprint fast, it was everything in her will not to use her levitation power to just fly the hell away from this place. She was scared and mortified, she just saw someone die on the scene, and they couldn't even grab the body to take back with them. She wanted to cry but she was too scared that tears couldn't even happen.

Sprinting through the forest they could hear other people and knew they were near by. "We need back up!" Heath yelled out to give the other demigods some warning.