Blaze of Glory - a PJO fanfiction

24. Funeral

Next Life - Anson Seabra

I made two burial shrouds that night.

Lee's shroud was a plain golden cloth, without decoration, as he would've liked it. The entire Apollo cabin had pitched in to make it, even me.

I only helped a little bit though, I was busy weaving a very different shroud. This one was dark green, embroidered with a broadsword. It was Xavier's.

I went to put the shroud on the funeral pyre, which was in the middle of the ampitheatre, but Mike stopped me. He raised an eyebrow.

"Who's is this?" he asked, a bunch of campers were looking at us now, probably wondering the same thing.

"Just let me burn it, Mike," I told him, putting the shroud down on the pyre. Then, I went to take a seat on the end of one of the benches in the front.

It turns out that Castor, one of Dionysus' two sons had also gone down while fighting an enemy demigod. He was one of the many bodies on the pyre. Pollux, Castor's twin brother, tried to say a few words, but he choked up and just went to light the pyre.

The torch had barely touched the pyre when the entire row of shrouds and bodies burst into a raging bonfire. Most of the campers looked at me in surprise, but no one said anything about my display.

I stared at the fire until it went out, unable to take my eyes off of where Lee and Xavier's shrouds were, right next to each other. I had a feeling they would've gotten along well, if either had lived long enough to meet the other.

Sometime later, Mike had led me back to the Apollo cabin, where they'd always kept an honorary bunk for me for the day I finally got claimed. I reluctantly climbed into bed, curling up into a ball until I finally drifted off to sleep.

- Time skip brought to you by Krys' first full night of sleep in like a week -

My next day was mostly spent cleaning up fire damage, which was surprisingly not my fault. It turns out that an enemy demigod, probably from Zayden's unit of archers, had fired flaming arrows into the forest, starting a forest fire.

I was a bit confused when they assigned me here, but it turns out concentrated sunlight does wonders for plants when combined with a little bit of nectar and magic.

My friend and brother's deaths don't hurt any less, but I'm learning to deal with it, slowly but surely.

The next couple of months were spent at camp, and when the summer session came to an end, I was given camp beads from the last three years to add to my necklace, which already had beads from the previous 4 summers I'd completed.

I spent two months over the summer trying to make up with Nyssa, but she'd been avoiding me so well that I hadn't even managed to talk to her. Now, on the last day of the summer session, August 18th, she finally approached me.

"Nyss-" I said as I noticed her approaching.

"Save it," she said, cutting me off from whatever I was about to say. "You don't have to say anything. In fact, I'd prefer it if you didn't." She paused, as if waiting for me to protest.

"Anyways," she continued "I just wanted to let you know that I don't forgive you, and I don't know if I will. Feel free to use the forges, or even be friends with my siblings again, but don't talk to me until I've forgiven you."

She turned, facing away from me. "I'll let you know if I ever do," she said, before she walked away, up half-blood hill, and out of camp.

"Okay, Nyss," I whispered to the wind. "I'll be waiting."

"Krys!" Mike's voice shouted from the volleyball courts. "Last game of the summer, are you playing?"

"Coming!" I shouted back.

And with that, my crazy summer came to an end, giving way to the beginning of a peaceful fall, winter, and spring at Camp Half-Blood.

Of course... that wasn't the end.

It never is...

---------

Another end to another part, my word doc is now exactly 100 pages long. Like, I didn't even plan it that way, it just kinda happened. In fact, I didn't plan most of the stuff that happened, I had a different plan, and then I abandoned the plan.

Step 1 : Make the plan

Step 2 : Abandon the plan

Step 3 : Write the book

Step 4 : Do the homework I've been avoiding (or don't)

Anyways, see you guys next time I decide to have writing motivation. Until next time...

Chaonix out 🫡