Missing Moonlight

Chapter 5: Mud Wrestling

As Zira ran down the field, Sevany cursed up a storm, both swears and actual curses. One of the curses flew straight towards Zira, hitting him straight in the back. He felt his strength sap away and his movements slow, and Sevany finally ripped the shirt off her face.

"Dude, what the hell? Why are you trying to leave?" Sevany asked, running after Zira.

"I came here to see if it was a..." Zira's voice faltered slightly. "Everyone here is crazy, with talk about gods and demigods; I'm leaving."

Sevany sighed and said, "I can't let you do that. I'll get in trouble with..." Sevany's own voice faltered, "Look, I'm already on thin ice with Chiron and Dionysus, if they find out I let a new demigod escape without at least some training, I'll get in major trouble."

Zira got the feeling that Chiron wouldn't do something like that but ignored it. He wouldn't care about a place that wasn't used to people like Zira. He was now wondering why he trusted a random note in a mysterious backpack.

Sevany sighed when Zira started slowly started back up. They waved their hand and a scimitar appeared in their hand. "I can't let you leave."

Zira pulled out his own weapon, the bronze hunting knife, and got ready to fight. "Too bad,"

Sevany lunged first, swinging her blade towards Zira. He sidestepped to the left and kicked Sevany in the knee. They buckled a bit and grunted, but were still standing.

Sevany pointed their finger at Zira and he was surrounded by green flames. Zira was able to roll out of the fire, but still got some nasty burns. Sevany waved her hand again and the ground beneath Zira became a patch of thick mud.

Zira picked up a glob of mud and threw it at Sevany. They ducked out of the way, which let Zira push them over. As Sevany fell, Zira kicked their blade away. It went flying, but before it hit the ground, it blinked out of existence.

Sevany cursed and tackled Zira. They both fell into the mud, Zira's hunting knife flying out of his hand. They started wrestling in the mud, Sevany trying to pin Zira's limbs down.

Zira wasn't letting them, kneeing them in the gut, biting, scratching, basically acting like a wild animal to stop Sevany from pinning him down. Eventually, Sevany was able to pin Zira's arms above his head after a few minutes.

"Listen," Sevany said, with what seemed like magic mixed in with her voice, forcing Zira to listen to them. "Just stay with us for a few weeks, then we could at least properly train you to defend yourself. I'm surprised one of the satyrs we met today didn't say anything, but you are a powerful demigod, and you have a stronger connection to the mythological world than most, and the reason you harmed yourself when you fought the hellhound, you are some sort of... super demigod or something."

"What's with all the praise?" Zira asked, "Think flattery will make me want to stay?"

"What's with you, after showing off your skills with a bow, you were acting weird. Why?"

"I don't have to, nor do I want to tell you."

"I get it, stranger danger and all that, but we get it. Most of us come from some pretty messed up home lives, we've been in similar positions to yours. If you don't want to stay after a few weeks, I won't stop you, but please just give it to try."

Zira stared at Sevnay for any trace of insincerity, but couldn't find any. He sighed and said, "Fine, I'll stay for one week then I'm gone."

"Two weeks," Sevany said, trying to bargain.

"One."

"One and a half. That way you can leave next Monday."

Zira considered it for a second before agreeing, "Fine, one and a half weeks then I leave next Monday. Deal?"

"Deal," Sevany said, letting go of Zira's arms. "I'll show you where to find the showers so we can get all this mud off."

Zira picked up the backpack and asked, "Do I have to put the snacks back?"

Sevany glanced at the bag before smiling, "Give me 2/3 to share with Aria and I won't tell anyone."

Zira nodded and Sevany took off her jacket, making a makeshift bag. They filled it with 2/3 of the snacks before setting off in the direction of the showers.

Sevany and Zira slipped into the crowd, finding their way over to Aria. When they sat down next to her, she seemed surprised. "Thought you was headin' to bed, Zira."

"I started feeling better, so I thought to bring some snacks." Zira held up Sevany's coat full of snacks.

Aria narrowed her eyes, "Did you two steal all this?"

Sevany looked at Zira asking for permission to tell Aria. Zira sighed and recapped the fight between him and Sevany and the deal he made. "Sevany made me promise to stay a week and a half, then I can choose to leave. And they wanted 2/3 of the snacks to share with you."

Aria peeked at the snack selection. "Got some good choices."

"Well, you get half of this," Sevany said, holding up the jacket full of snacks.

Aria reached into the jacket and pulled out a bag of chips. "Cool ranch is the best flavor."

Sevany looked slightly offended by this. "Your taste palate is screwed up, Nacho is the best flavor."

Zira sat himself on the stone seat behind them, watching the two argue over which Doritos flavor was best, and shook his head at them.

After a night of sing-alongs and roasting marshmallows — activities Zira had no interest participating in but was forced into joining by Sevany and Aria — everyone headed to their respective cabins for the night. Zira shoved the bag of snacks underneath his new bunk and headed to the bathroom to change into an undershirt and shorts.

Zira flopped onto the bed and stared up at the bunk above him. Zira traced the groves in the wood with a mental pen, calming him down. As Zira started to dose off, his mind was filled with the events of the day.

The reality that gods and magic and demigods finally caught up with him, plus the unfamiliar surroundings and sounds set him off. Zira could feel his heartbeat quicken, his breaths became more shallow, and his vision started to narrow. Zira sat up and tried to take deep breaths, and after a few minutes, his breathing became more stable and his vision and heartbeat returned to normal. Zira focused on his breathing and keeping it under control, which let him get some well-needed rest.

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