"I hope this game is fun but I kind of doubt it" Daniel groaned and Arabella grinned at him. They were standing on their side, waiting for the horn to start the game. Arabella was excited. She couldn't wait.
"It'll be fun"
"Not as fun as last week though, I'm sure" Daniel teased, wiggling his eyebrows and Arabella rolled her eyes.
"I heard that there might be some kind of twist or something tonight.." She said, chooing to ignore what Daniel said. It was his turn to roll his eyes and he opened his mouth to say something but then the horn sounded and Arabella was off, moving as quickly as she could through the woods. All around her was excitment and movment. Her adrenaline was pumping and she loved. As she moved, she was able to forget about her worries with Brett and just enjoy the rush she was feeling. Up ahead of her, she saw someone from the other team move towards one of Arabella's sisters. Her sister, instead of doing anything, stood there and screamed while the guy ran at her with his sword raised. Arabella bent down and picked up a rock and tossed it at the guy, hitting his helmet and causing him to fall down. She grinned and ducked deeper into the trees, slowing down a little bit.
"Can we be teamed up together?" Brooke asked the Athena camper who was barking out orders. He looked at Hunter and Brooke then cleared his throat.
"That depends. Do you want to win?"
"Yeah, it would be nice." Hunter said quickly.
"Then, no. That makes no sense, honestly." He said before grabbing Jake and shoving him toward the other side of the forest. "Hunter and Jake, you go. Brooke, you...I don't know. Just stay here." Brooke frowned then grabbed Hunter by the collar.
"Win it for me, stud." She said before kissing him tightly on the lips. "Good luck." She said, finally releasing him. Hunter just swayed there for a second before feeling yank on his shirt sleeve.
"Hunter, come on. You can do it." Hunter shook himself then turned to Jake. The two of them took off toward the woods just as there was a loud crack in the sky and the clouds opened up, immediately starting a downpour of rain, soaking the forest.
Arabella froze, letting out a squeak of surprise. The rain pelted down, drenching her hair and making her clothes stick to her skin. It was amazing. Sure, this was clearly just the twist. Chiron brought rain into the camp to shock them and see how they deal with the change. But Arabella loved it. It felt like a miracle. She tilted her head back to look at the sky and she closed her eyes, laughing softly to herself. Finally. It was raining. But then she heard some shouts from behind her from members of the other team and she darted gracefully into the woods, getting deeper and deeper.
Hunter slipped in the mud again and landed hard against a tree. With a groan, he straightened himself out and rubbed his shoulder. He looked right and saw Jake leaned up against a tree, laughing hard. Hunter walked over and shoved him, causing him to fall back against the tree.
"Yeah. Not so funny, now, is it?" Hunter said, helping him up. Suddenly a large kid burst into the area and Hunter blocked his first strike with his sword. Jake quickly swept his feet out from under him with his spear then pinned his armor to the ground with it. There was the sound of more guys coming toward them and Hunter panicked. "Run!" Hunter shouted before taking off through the woods. They shot through the trees, quickly dodging around branches and stepping over tree roots. Hunter finally entered a clearing and stopped to catch his breath. "That was close." He said, straightening up and turning around to look at Jake. He wasn't there. "Jake?!" He shouted. No answer. "Oh, crap."
Arabella slowed down, taking deep breaths. She had gotten so deep in the woods, it was as black as night. The rain was pounding down on her so hard and her hair kept falling in her face. She stopped, leaning against a tree, so that she could pull her hair back into a bun. It was quiet in the woods, she couldn't hear the shouts from other camper or the sounds of their fighting. All she could hear was the rain. She took that moment to close her eyes and smile, taking it all in. Suddenly, she heard shouts from all around her and a bunch of guys from the Apollo team jumped out of the woods, rushing towards her.
Hunter had started walking, trying to get some sort of bearing. He lost Jake and he couldn't really hear anything. Nothing, but the rain. He paused a moment when he heard a slight crack behind him and he ducked behind a tree just long enough for an arrow to whiz by. He peeked behind the tree to see a blonde head of hair stalking toward him.
"Hunter, Hunter, Hunter." Brett said, notching another arrow. "Look, I've got a simple request. Stay away from Arabella. I've got a good thing going here and I know something is going on with you and her, so just stay away from her." Hunter looked at him in slight surprise.
"What are you talking about? Just because I know that you're not actually the guy who saved her, doesn't mean there's something going on." He thought for a second before reaching ahead and grabbing the arrow out from the tree. "Think fast!" He said before throwing the arrow at him and taking off into the woods again. He could hear an arrow shoot by again. He zigzagged around the trees and finally climbed a tree, hopping up another branch to stay out of sight. "This sucks." He said quietly as he tucked his legs up and hid.
Arabella turned and she ran, but she was unsteady on her feet and she kept slipping in the mud. The campers behind her were getting close and she had no chance against them. She was thinking about how amazing it would be if Brett jumped in and saved her again, like last time, when she felt someone grab her and pull her up into a tree. She was about to let out a yell when a hand covered her mouth, silencing her. Arabella closed her eyes, taking deep breaths while she waited for the campers that were chasing her to leave.
Hunter kept his hand on Arabella's mouth until the group passed and then turned to her. "Stay absolute silent." He whispered to her before slowly removing his hand over her mouth. "Stay here." He carefully slid down off that branch to a lower one just in time to see the group of kids crash through the forest and disappear. He breathed a sigh of relief then climbed back up and sat down next to Arabella. He sat there for a second before turning to her. "Having fun?" He said with a nervous chuckle.
Arabella looked at him, squinting her eyes. She couldn't really tell who it was. It was dark and the voice sounded familiar. She knew that she knew him but she just couldn't place it. Arabella took a deep breath and she let it out in a little laugh, pushing a few loose hairs back but the rain was so intense, it almost wasn't worth it. "Yeah...tons of fun" She said with a small smile and she bit her lip. "Thanks for saving me" She said then gasped a little bit. Was this Brett? Was he saving her again? The voice sounded so familiar and felt so warm, it must have been him.
"Two times in one month." Hunter said with a quiet laugh. "I hope you're not making a habit of this, Ms. Foster." He said, trying to hide his voice a little bit. He wondered if she could tell that he wasn't Brett. This was his chance. He needed to be anonymous when he told her and this was the perfect time to do it. "Are you okay? I wasn't sure if they got you or not?"
"Yeah, yeah...I'm okay" Arabella breathed and she looked around, trying to find out where they were. It was hard to tell in the dark. She bit her lip then turned back to look at the guy who had saved her. Arabella couldn't see much in the dark but she could make out his outline and the shine in his eyes. "I think that we're by our flag. We should probably keep an eye out or something, no?" She was breathing a little heavily from the rush of the whole night but she loved it.
"Right." He said, looking down from the tree. There was a pause and Hunter was looking for the right words to say, but he was drawing a blank. Arabella, Brett wasn't the one who saved you that night. It was me. It was me, Hunter. I know I should have told you this sooner, but I just wasn't sure what to do. I panicked and I was stupid and I hope you can forgive me. He shouted in his head, but once his head was quiet, he started to realize how quiet it actually was. The only sound was the rain and the slightly heavy breaths coming from both of them. "Man, this rain. I'd complain about it messing things up, but I just love rain so much." He said, leaning backward a little on the branch, rocking a little out of nerves.
Arabella looked at him, furrowing her brow. She was 100% sure that the guy was Brett. But Brett hated the rain, he had told her that in the morning. She shook herself and cleared her throat. "I love the rain. It makes everything feel so...fresh and magical" Arabella said softly and she scooted a little bit closer, trying to see if she could find out who it was. "Are...are you the one who saved me last week?" She breathed in a nervous voice, leaning into him a tiny bit.
Hunter felt her lean into him a little, but he didn't protest. With the rain the way it was, it was a little cold and the extra warmth kind of felt nice. Especially coming from Arabella. He looked down for a moment then cleared his throat. "Yes. Yes, I am. A couple of Athena kids were chasing you then I knocked them out then helped you up, but you were dizzy so I set you back down and told you to charmspeak them if they woke up." He said, giving the details, so she knew that he was the right guy. "It's a little worse considering I wasn't on your team..." He said quietly, wiping some rain from his face.
Arabella bit her lip, her heart racing. She had no idea who was sitting in front of her but she knew that he was the one who had saved her. His voice and his warmth felt so familiar and she was desperate to know who he was. "Well, I hope that your team wasn't too mad at you" She said in a low voice, leaning closer to him and straining her eyes to see more of his face. Arabella was so close to him and she was so close to see who he was when her hand slipped and the next thing she knew, she was falling.
"The entire camp still thinks that Brett guy is-Oh, shit!" Hunter said before quickly reaching down and grabbing her wrist. The rainwater made it difficult to hang on, but soon enough he hooked a few fingers inside the wristband of her watch. That was when the pain hit. A sharp pain, no doubt from holding Arabella up. He groaned a little as he felt a warm fluid start to drip down his arm. "Hey, listen. Right below you and to the left is a-damn!" He said quietly as he heard motion from below.
"We've got it. Let's not move too fast. Fast means suspicion." The leader said as they walked under the tree. Hunter choked back another gasp of pain then managed to swing his arm a little so her feet would touch the branch. Finally, she managed to stand on the branch and Hunter let out a gasp of relief as he started to relax his arm.
Arabella thought that she might faint from the nerves. Her heart was racing at a million times a minute. Of course, she would fall right before she found out who he was. Arabella held onto the tree tightly, trying to regain her balance so that she could help out and try to stop the guys from getting their flag. But she was dizzy and she felt a little lighte headed. As soon as she started to feel a little bit better, Arabella let out of the tree. She realized that that was a bad idea because once she let go of the tree, she slipped on the wet bark and fell to the ground. As she fell, she let out a yell of shock. The guys trying to get the flag stopped, glancing over at where she fell. Arabella tried to move but she couldn't move fast enough. The guys were starting to go after her. But then he moved and she watched as the guy who had saved for the third time now jumped down to the ground and started to fight against the campers that were about to take their flag.
Hunter dodged the first swing and drew his sword, trying to find a good place to take a stance. The ground was too wet and they were moving too fast for him, so he grabbed his shield and immediately let out a cry of pain. His left arm was too weak and there was no question that there was still blood on it from whatever wound he had gotten. Maybe from Brett's arrows. He kicked hi shield backward and quickly backed up to Arabella's location on the ground before helping her.
"Grab that shield. Block what you can. Knock them down if you can." He said before leaning over a little. "Aim for the head." He whispered before charging at the group. As he charged he could feel the demigod powers kicking in. It was like flipping a switch and suddenly they were moving in slow motion. He dodged a spear swing and broke it with a swing of his sword. He quickly grabbed the remainder of the shaft with his good arm and pushed forward, using the brutish fellow at the end of it as a battering ram to knock down another guy. There was a clang and Hunter looked over to see Arabella standing over an unconscious Ares camper. He smiled a little and shook himself back to the fight just as a shield hit him in the chest. He fell backward, but then, with both legs, kicked the shield backward, sending the guy off balance enough to trip over a tree root and knock himself out. Hunter stood and heard a small squeak and looked over to find a guy trying to pull the shield away from Arabella. He walked up and knocked him on the head with the butt of his sword. "Keep going. You're doing great." He said to her quickly before turning just in time to parry another attack. With a clunk, Arabella hit him in the head with her shield then backed away when a couple more guys started to attack her. Hunter was about to go after them when he saw another guy.
"You're next, punk." There was another clang and another and Hunter tried not to look over when he noticed who his next opponent was. A wall of a human who went by the name of Caleb. He took a heavy swing with his sword and Hunter managed to parry it with his good arm. There was no way he would be able to block it with only one good hand. He swung and Caleb knocked his blade away before booting him square in the chest. Hunter fell backward and scrambled for the closest weapon which ended up being the broke end of the spear. He threw it and it hit Caleb in the head just enough to slow him down when there was another clang. Caleb wobbled for a second then fell forward revealing a very shaken up Arabella holding a very dented shield in her hands.
Arabella took a few shaky breaths, looking around at the scattered campers. She felt too many things at once. She was overwhelmed. Not only had she found the guy that had saved her, but she also knew that Brett had been lying to her. Ontop of that, she had just taken out quite a few Ares guys. Arabella took a couple steps towards the guy who had saved her, still not able to tell who it was. There were little things that she could see, like the shine in his eyes and the shape of his body. She could also see something that looked like blood on his arm. Arabella squeaked and she grabbed his arm gingerly, looking at the wound. "Are you okay?" She breathed.
Hunter could feel his hand on her arm and, honestly, it felt kind of good. He could see a concerned look on her face and he just looked at it for a moment before shaking himself and finally focusing on the wound. "Yeah." He said quietly, feeling on his arm for the cut. He gasped a little when he found it and he ran his finger along it, finding it to be surprisingly deep. "I'd say I cut it on a tree branch, but I think one of Brett's arrows-" He stopped himself, realizing he might have gone too far. He cleared his throat. "Good job with the shield, by the way. Very...unique. You took my aim for the head advice to heart." He said, tearing the sleeve off his bloody shirt then using his sword to cut off the other sleeve. "Do you mind tying it off?" He said, handing her the sleeve and offering his arm. "I'll get some nectar after the game."
Arabella nodded softly and she took a deep breath, with steadier hands than she thought possible, she gingerly tied his sleeve around his arm. She bit her lip, trying to be gentle but also trying to make it tight enough. "Thanks...you gave me good advice." Arabella said softly and she took a small breath, finishing it off. "You were pretty amazing. Again" She said with a little giggle. Arabella paused for a moment, letting her hands slide down his arm until she was holding his hand. "You know...I never really got to thank you for saving me"
Hunter felt her hand in his and he looked down for a second, his stomach clenching. "It's okay. I mean, we're on the same team, you know? And besides, I'd be a bloody-Well, bloodier mess right now, if you hadn't bonked Caleb on the head." He had a feeling what she was going to do, and he wanted her to, but at the same time he didn't want her to. It would complicate things and in the same way, she could recognize him. That complicates things enough. "No, thanks, necessary, ma'am." He said with a nervous chuckle.
Arabella took a deep breath and she leaned into him. She didn't know who he was and she didn't really care. This guy had saved her many, many times and she felt something with him. A spark. Before he could protest or push her away or she could change her mind, Arabella kissed him. She pressed her lips against his in an innocent, gentle kiss. It was a simple kiss but she felt her heart race and her stomach do flip flops. Almost as soon as her lips touched his, the horn sounded and the game ended. The clouds parted and the rain stopped. In a daze from the kiss, Arabella looked up at the sky, seeing the moon shine through.
Hunter put his hands on her hips as she kissed him. It was a tender and and innocent, but Hunter felt like his face was on fire. His stomach was tight his heart was pounding. When she pulled away, Hunter was in a daze. The rain had stopped and it was perfect weather out now, but with Hunter's wet clothes, he became very cold. He swayed a little, his whole body cold, but his lips warm from her kiss. He touched his fingers softly to them before looking at Arabella who was looking up at the sky. She couldn't know it was him. He had to keep it a secret. He grabbed his sword and quickly sheathed it before taking off through the woods, waving a silent goodbye to Arabella.