"Ow!" came the loud complaint. 

"You deserved that Jongdae," Jia snorted, rolling her eyes before rolling out of the way. 

"Can't I just fry 'im?" he questioned, eyeing the monster in the air - a drakon they had called it, not a dragon.

"You already tried to 'fry him,' " I reminded, eyeing our surroundings. It had only been a few days, a few monsters, a long distance, and we were, according to the group, just at the entrance of the "camp" they had referred to. "The lightning just made him angry and spew acid-poison."

"Right. Thanks Captain Obvious," Jongdae threw back, going in close for a slash to the leg - no damage.

"You're welcome Lieutenant Sarcasm," I retorted, dodging another spew of acidic poison. A very difficult monster to beat, tired and hungry demigods - they had explained the basics of the situation during our journey - and one useless, weaponless person aka me.  

"Any other plans Captain?" Jongdae questioned sarcastically. I grimaced.

"Keep the giant lizard busy!" I ordered, running off towards the general direction we were heading towards.

"Wha-Hey!" Jongdae complained.

"Jongdae move your fat *ss!" Jia ordered, going in for an attack with Tao. 

The plan was simple: get reinforcements.

The process to get it, just as simple: run.

The execution of it: not so simple, not with a acid-poison-spitting drakon on my tail. 

It was deliberately attacking me since I was the weak link. My eyes narrowed. My opponent did not just underestimate me of all things.

Oh it was so on now.

-oOo-

Most people tend to stand up to challenges - a respectable quality really. But I have to admit that standing up to a acidic-poison-spitting drakon weaponless and without training bordered...risky. (Ok, and maybe a bit stupid.)

"Freaking lizard-guts," I muttered under my breath, dodging to the left. I grabbed a fallen tree branch and threw it upwards, not completely aiming at the drakon. The monster spewed it with acidic poison, roared, and dived at me. Tuck and roll - somehow imbedded into me already. 

"You guys as decoys!" I shouted at the three other demigods. Jia made a face, Chen shrugged, and Tao glowered. 

"You at escaping!" Chen threw back, giving a grin I had recently learned meant 'run.' He called on lightning. Freaking son of Jupiter. I glared at him and he had the gall to give an 'apologetic' salute though I knew already that he wasn't all that sorry.

"Just wanted to get reinforcements," I muttered, scowling. "Is that so hard?"

"Guess so," Jia commented off-handedly as we both ducked under her shield - a trashcan top that was sizzling, melting, and wouldn't last long but helpful nonetheless. She threw it at the drakon - no damage and no more help but useless to keep either way.

"Shouldn't demigods get weapons? Like, I don't know, say me?" I snapped, pushing Jia out of the way, again, as another splash of acidic poison landed where we used to be. 

"Fine! Roman Deities! You never give up!" Jia complained, tossing me a dagger. Knew she had one hidden. I grinned.

"Perfect! Hey Tao! How's your weightlifting skills?" I questioned as he and Chen narrowly became drakon snacks. He had, I decided, the right to look so offended.

-oOo-

The plan wasn't all that hard - mentally. Getting the team to follow the plan that they didn't quite know all of without tipping off the drakon was harder, risky really, and with the drakon getting impatient and us getting tired, it was a bad idea. But then again, I was the least tired. Had the best chance I supposed. 

"Strike at the base of the left wing!" I instructed, going in close and hiding.

"Who died and named her Jupiter?" Jongdae complained although he did as asked and struck there - an admirable deed from someone mid-air but I supposed he might have had help from the air itself. Tao and Jia both had their own hits at it, not commenting on my hiding despite my earlier enthusiasm although I got a few dubious glances.

"Now what?" Jongdae questioned, grunting as the drakon almost bit off an arm but crashed him into a tree instead. Jia sighed. The drakon was, from what information I knew, small for a drakon, closer to a dragon even. So a young drakon maybe. But still with a tough hide, deadly teeth plus claws, and acidic poison. Of course. I waited, having spotted the pattern already. 

The drakon dived. I jumped with a lift from Tao.

I landed on its back, clamping my legs across its neck and drawing the dagger once over its eyes to blind it if only temporarily and held on as it roared, flying wildly. It crashed against a tree on purpose, sending pain through just about everything in me, and I grimaced but held on. I had gotten here, but the hide - still a problem. The drakon dived towards Jia; that was a problem. I stabbed at it blindly, hissing when part of its teeth and its poisonous acid touched my arm. 

"Dari!" Jia shouted with obvious worry. The poisonous acid...was the key! I focused on getting the acid-poison on the blade, hissing when I got a few drops on my hand instead. In theory, it should work. The acidic poison was from inside of the drakon that's true, but the drakon was covered in hard plates, layered over its skin-

"If you call on thunder or lightning right now, I'll fry your *ss first Jongdae!" Jia's voice shouted somewhere in the background. 

-therefore, it needed to protect its insides - its muscles, nerves, tendons - all that stuff. So if I could get through its armor and with its own poisonous acid too-

"Her *ss is already being fried over there on her own!" Jongdae's voice cried out in complaint followed by a yelp.

-even if it wouldn't be easy, if I could stab there, it could be a beacon - a lightning rod!

I carefully maneuvered myself, trying not to stab myself as I twisted around, legs tightening around the drakon's neck although I couldn't choke it; its skin was too tough for that. I chipped at the scale, scowling when the blade broke, but staring at its broken form, I grinned. Perfect.

"She's crazy! She's smiling!" Jongdae's voice complained again. I tossed the point of the broken dagger at him; I didn't need the extra weight but he needed a warning against crossing me. Ignoring the still-continuing-argument, I slipped the dagger under one of the scales by the left wing's base, a feat only made greater with its thrashing, Tao and Jongdae plus Jia's attempts at injuring it without hurting me, and the fact that I was near upside down, blood rushing to my head.

Barely had I slipped the dagger under the scale, a little acid blood - even their blood was acidic, great - sliding onto my hands when the drakon bucked, crashing onto the ground and sending my head spiraling. Only sheer luck kept the blade under its scale and ignoring the headache, I pulled the hilt upwards, using it to shovel the scale out as far as I could. The drakon cried and with a final move, I held the scale up and buried the broken dagger into its soft flesh and jumped off, partially thrown off.

"Jongdae do your thing!" I ordered, covering my head. 

"Finally!" came the reply followed by the sound of thunder. The drakon roared and I out.

-oOo-

"Look who's awake! Rise and shine sleeping beauty!" Jongdae's voice broke in. I groaned.

"I hate poison...and acid," I complained, blinking. "...and waking up after being knocked out."

"You passed out the second time," Jia commented. I groaned again.

"Still...and where are we?" I asked, sitting up groggily with a pounding headache.

"We're where we were heading," Jia answered, crossing her arms. "Hope you have more of that spunk in you."

"Spunk recharging still," I joked, giving a half-smile and then a wince.

"Yeah good luck with that. You're on probatio, Lupa didn't bring you, and I'm going to give you a tour," Jia snorted, frowning. "You are...unusual."

"Yeah, we got that already," I grumbled, sitting up. "So where are we going?"

-oOo-

"Welcome to Camp Jupiter...Well, at least that's what they call it in America," my guide declared, giving a strangely bitter grin. "Here, it's called Camp Roma. The ones over in America get all the parents' attention so obviously they worship them more."

"And us?" I couldn't help but ask, raising an eyebrow. Jia shrugged.

"Carrying on the tradition or something?" she stated with confidence, though obviously unsure herself. She turned back to the camp, her back towards me. "We get prophecies and little things sometimes...but sometimes it'd be better if they just didn't come at all either."

I didn't question her further on the matter. 

My eyes wandered the borders of the camp, lush trees surrounding it and mountains high enough to keep away helicopters and most planes. Campers, I suppose we were now to be called, were everywhere along with fauns in small little groups places, a few daring to chase nymphs across the grounds. Most campers were practicing together, sparring ferociously. Others were doing some shooting practice while some were flying on pegasi. However, I noticed everyone was moving, busy doing something.

"How come no one finds this place?" I dared to question as she led me somewhere. 

"People do. The Mist keeps most people from entering but every now and then we have a few accidental wanderers," Jia explained. "A good little information grilling and help from Somnus's kids and they never suspect a thing."

My eyes caught on a girl, the only one alone and not busily working only a few feet from us. She wore the same purple shirt and jeans, her hair let down loose so it fell over her shoulders and a pair of glasses on her nose. She sat in the shade of a tree, a book open in her hands. My dyslexia kept me from reading the title fully so it looked something like forh dof tel sile. She was calm and strangely relaxed, reading to herself as if there was nothing to worry about in the world.

"Who's that?" I asked, nudging my head in her direction. 

"Who-" she questioned before stopping mid-way. She grimaced, gesturing at the female. "You mean...her right?"

I nodded wordlessly, wondering silently about that odd emphasis. She hesitated.

"That's Choi Sooyeon," she finally answered, sighing. She struggled for the right words, biting on her bottom lip for a moment. "She's...who they call a misfit around here."

"A misfit?" I repeated unimpressed.

"She's just so...weird," she explained, eyebrows scrunching up in the middle of her forehead. She waved her hands dismissively. "When you talk to other campers and then talk to her, you'll understand."

"What do you mean by weird?" I further implored. She sighed again, scratching her head.

"When you talk to her, you'll know...She's...warm," she stated uncomfortably before walking and leaving me to follow. "Over there is the stables."

She obstinately continued the tour, letting me know that the conversation was over.

-oOo-

Last Touched: 31 October 2014