TONGUES & TEETH; Luke Castellan [ 1 ]

< WILLOW TREE MARCH >

Thunder crashed loudly outside as Luke came too jolting up from his bed. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly a surge of pain through his head. 3 days since Pandora had disappeared. Most of the camp insisted she was dead, and the darkness was just her returning to the underworld.

She wasn't. He could feel it, didn't make it any less painful. "Luke, you going out?" Chris across from him whispered, noticing Luke had stood up shakily. With a soft 'yes', he disappeared from the cabin. He could only be out in the open for a few minutes before the harpies would siren.

It didn't bother him as he snuck from his into Pandora's cabin. He wished she here, that must've been some way for him to reach her. With the dimly lit candles in the cabin he sorted through the random artefacts. Something must connect to the underworld, something.

He was sure it was the early morning by the time he shoved half of the items to the ground, swearing loudly. He couldn't get to her, save her. She probably wasn't even alive. "She's dead, fuck she's dead." He pulled his hair painfully, "Fuck." He shouted kicking another loose item to the ground.

".. Luke." He almost jumped up the stairs as he scaled them in a few seconds. He looked around desperately, looking for where the voice had come from. It might have been in his head, the voice. "I would've died sooner, if I'd knew I got such a reaction." The voice was so soft, so broken, pained.

Finally he swivelled his head around to the far corner. "Hi Luke." She strained, Luke dropped to his knees wrapping his hands around tightly. She winced in pain at the sudden movement, but he didn't care. She was alive.

"Pandora." His eyes watering as he hugged her tighter. His hands cupped the back of her head, as tears wet the side of his shirt.
"How- How long- have you been here Pans." He finally let her go long enough to pull her shirt up shakily.

Clarisse's scar had left a nasty gash, hardly healed only enough to keep her alive. Her fingers tips were stained black, and black tears coated her cheeks. She was dying.

"Only... Only since this morning." She mumbled softly her fingers rested on his arms, "He's going.. going to stop. My father." His fingers brushed against her cheeks wiping the mix of ash and tears from her skin.

"Come on Pans, we need to get you—" He needed to get her help, she made a turn for the worst. Inches from death.

"We.. we've come to an agreement, he won't kill me. He.. He needs me.. for the war Luke. The- The war to come." He slowed realised most of what she was saying was slurred, he didn't know if she even knew what she was saying, "The- The oracle." His hands slid under her arms pulling her to her feet. She gasped painfully but continued leant against Luke's side. "One more thing.. one thing and I'm done." Luke tried to focus in on her words.

"He's coming. He- He can feel- feel it. It worries him, Hades- Hades." He inched her towards the stairs slowly, "The- The oracle-" He shushed her as they descending the stairs, tears wetting her cheeks again. She felt the semi-healed wound reopen, cries leaving her lips as Luke gave up pulling her into his arms descending the steps.

"Hold on Pans." Blood seeped from her reopened wound to his fingers, with the kick of his foot the door slamming open. He was right, the sun had begun to rise and the first cabin to usually awake came piling out.
Apollo's cabin.

"Jerry! Jerry!" The tall teen was busy joking with one of his younger siblings. He looked up just in time for Luke to near the cabin.
Jerry pulled his younger sister in their direction, explaining to her calmly as Luke lowered Pandora to the ground. "Can- Can she heal her??" Luke pulled Jerry downwards slightly, his hand on his shoulder.

"Give her a second man." The younger girl knelt down hovering a hand over Pandora's side. Since the cabin Pandora had fallen unconscious, the small mutters drowning out. "Not a lot of sun, to work with. How's she even alive." Jerry stared back at the unconscious teen.

"I- I don't know. Found her in her cabin, she didn't heal it." Slowly soft bursts of light strung the gash together, dark blood seeping back into the wound. "I need to see Chiron—"

Suddenly a roar erupted across the camp, newly healed Pandora jolting up. "Fuck!" She scrambled away from the frightened daughter of Apollo. "It's the last thing."
Luke's face dropped. "He'll stop if it dies."
Pandora had planned to defeat a dragon.