Attlas Minuet's Story

"Forest adventure! Woohoo!"

---

Attlas was wandering off in the woods again, since, he was on a class trip here, but had seemingly abandoned his friends and group to just have his own little adventure before he's probably killed by his teachers or something. Though it felt weird to him as he thought of his adventure, he had always loved the woods for no seemingly explained reason. Though there was something that caught his attention immediately, it was a very loud 'CRACK', as if something moving at terminal velocity had hit a tree's limb, breaking it with ease, and the a loud 'BOOM' as if the object had now hit the ground. The earth rumbled a little at the boom, which made Attlas think, That... Was a really long fall for something... it surely wasn't a meteor, since there was no fiery explosion of doom heading for him, nor was it big enough to create what he figured was an, almost deafening sound over the woods. Though soon enough he ran towards the sound, not just out of curiosity, but in a panic, he just had to know.

After reaching the impact site, which was deeper in the woods, he saw what was supposedly happening, there was two women, rather, one looked like a small child whom seemingly was the cause of the sound that had happened, and a woman whom was smoking, and looked like she was maybe in her twenties and smoking a cigarette. Attlas slowly approached, taking out his hammer (Which is about the size of a toy mallet) and spoke, ready for anything, since he's heard about monster attacks around, "May I ask what is going on here?" he asked slowly approaching the small child, whom looked horribly beaten and injured, checking her vital signs, she's alive... Barely... he thought before glancing at the other woman, in confusion, but also as if looking for advice, he was unsure what to do, and waited for someone to tell him what can be done, which no matter what, he'd get the girl back to the school's camp to give her first aid.

---

"You dare... accuse me of... of being a pet?" 'Oh boy.' Ice spread thinly around the Goddess, perhaps a byproduct of such an emotional reaction, turning into steam as it neared Faust-- her unnatural body temperature insistently maintaining itself. She had expected it, had been anticipating violence (something so easily found nowadays), but definitely not the next bit enough to hide her disbelief. "You're... Frost? But didn't you die, with the others?" Her shock made the rhetorical question a quiet exhale, not that it seemed as if the child? was up to much listening. Although, Faust supposed, it certainly made sense in hindsight: nobody had ever found a body, and the Titans certainly weren't above years of torture (because what other use of Frost could they possibly have?).

In any case, it was clearly a stunt that Death would pull-- putting Faust up for an assignment that turned out to be the damn Goddess of Ice. Maybe it was karma, she'd dodged the many efforts to get her involved with things for most of the last five hundred years. 'But seriously, to jump from a human war to that of a God's? Are you trying to fucking kill me?'

It was that moment, probably just as Frost herself went limp and had a personal meeting with Death, that Faust heard a distinct voice in her head. That, plus a ringing that made her eyes glow and brought a hand to her head in a cringe.

"Here's a chance to do something with your life for once, you little shit. It's about time. Like it or not, this is also part of your job; and you know I don't need a hell hound that doesn't answer a summons." Faust found herself returning the ice Goddess' glare from earlier, although this time to a still, semi-conscious body. "So make yourself useful and play a part in this war. I won't leave Life with all the pieces when you're not doing shit anyway."

With that, Death's presence left as abruptly as she had come, leaving behind a bitter taste and Faust's growing, crushing feeling of resignation. 'No choice this time, huh? Bloody hell.' It was with a sigh that she zoned back in, just in time to hear the faint "Please help me." come from the tiny humanoid creature; as well as the distant, stumbling footsteps of someone approaching. "Shit, humans? Hold on." Crouching by Frost, Faust rummaged in her pockets until she found a few small, one-inch cubes of ambrosia; then quickly slipped them into one of the Goddess' hands while thawing the general area with heat (covering the small clearing in a thin layer of mist, to hide the snow in the middle of spring).

Faust spoke in a low voice, then, just before Attlas would arrive: "I don't have very much ambrosia, hell hounds need less than you would, but it should hold you over. If whoever's coming wants to kill you, run the fuck away and I'll catch up with you later, alright?" In the state Frost was in, this Hound knew that even she, a monster, had a better chance of survival. And then an afterthought, "I'm Faust."

"May I ask what is going on here?" 'I would've preferred if you hadn't, but what is a choice these days?'

Although wary of anything, Faust remained calm; becoming (seemingly) as genuinely concerned as any typical passerby. "Looks like she fell from somewhere, maybe from that fallen tree?" She gestured at a convenient, half-split oak a few feet away, one that had likely broken as the Goddess had plummeted down to Earth. "I found her here just a little while ago, but I don't have any supplies and there's no signal this deep in the forest. Do you know if there's a camp or lodge around, where she can get some medical attention?" Faust's accent, hopefully, would convince the human that she was simply a hiking foreigner that had been taking in the sights. And first things' first was to get them all out of the place, before an unwanted Titan or another Monster showed up (therefore screwing them all over). Things were never that easy, not when it had been with Joan or Alexander either--

'By the way, what kind of human carries a hammer on a hike? It's been millenniums, and still I'll never understand them.'

---

Tired from the long trip, Necholas had found himself a comfortable position in his bunk. Despite the bright sunny day for some odd reason the young silver haired boy had rested himself the safety of the bottom bunk of their camp. Thanks to the large windows in the cabin like room, even pulling the white curtain made no effect to the bright light in the room. With the thin sheet over his head he hoped that that would help make things darker and would help him get a few hours of sleep. He struggled and tossed and turned under the thin blanket. Who was he kidding? It was a beautiful day. He was surrounded with nature and close friends. He shouldn't be wasting his time trying to get his afternoon sleep--that and it was getting far too quiet and lonely for the boy to go sleep.

Necholas sat up and tossed the blanket onto the edge of the bed. His eyes scanned the small room expecting to see at least one of his friends to be there. "Where is everybody?" He asked himself as he threw his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. He checked at the top bunk but was disappointed to only find a bag. He looked over at the small corners of the room but still found nothing. He turned his head to the window and looked over at the scenery. Perhaps the others were had already started to explore the camp or the woods at least. A large grin grew on his face as he pulled a sweater onto his small frame. He knew he would meet up with at least one of them in the woods, it would be some sort of adventure for the small thrill seeker.

The silver haired boy shuddered as the light breeze kissed upon his face. With the sun's rays shining down at him, he began to regret his decision as he took his first few steps on the dirt path. It wasn't that he didn't like the out doors--though it was a strange place for the young man--he didn't really like how bright the days was. If it were darker perhaps he wouldn't be doubting himself.

For a while he stuck to the path but soon found himself venturing farther away from it. He then started to enter the woods. Hopefully he would be able to find his way back. As he continued his way he frowned a little when he heard a few voices into the woods. Through the woods Necholas followed the origins of the voice and hopes it was one of his friends. A large grin grew on his face as he recognized the boy. "Decided to be one with nature again?" He called out to his friend teasingly as he approached the young man. "I'm pretty sure you'll get in trouble for--"He stopped mid sentence as his eyes looked down at the hammer in his hand. "Woah man, wh-why do you have that? Please tell me you aren't going to build a tree house here."[/color] He teased the boy as he followed his gaze. He looked upon the two girls and frowned one of them seemed to be hurt.

"I didn't know others would be here." Neko looked over at Attlas and then the two girls. With out even thinking he took a few steps closer and flashed a smile. "Well it wouldn't be very gentle men like if we left two ladies in trouble, right?" Neko flashed a grin back at raven haired boy.

"So... This has gotten... Interesting."

---

Attlas was silent as the woman spoke. Though he was soon joined by a friend, "Oh. Hey Neko." he said smiling, his hammer was now tucked away, "No. Its for if I need to climb, it has a tip on one end that can dig into rocks. That's why I have it." he replied, though lookd back at the other woman, before picking up the child, "There is a camp nearby. I can take her there and treat her injuries the best I can. Though by the extent of her injuries, she's in need of a doctor. Neko, I'm going to need you to cover for me. She can't be left untreated." he said with a tonality that was not too normal for him... Attlas knew how to preform decent first aid, but he knew his teachers were going to have a fit if they saw him with the small child. Though Attlas looked to the other woman, "If you wish to tag along, go ahead, but I do ask that you don't exactly enter the camp until after dark since our teachers would kill us. Oay?" he said with a smile, soon he began walking to camp with the small, injured child.

"I hope this is the right idea..."

---

Attlas sighed, "I'm at the least, going to make sure she is stable before transport." he responded to Neko as he noticed the blood and that Neko had draped the dress around her, it was obvious he couldn't really heal her fully, but at the least, he could keep her injuries from killing her temporarily before he moved her to the hospital. He noted how cold she felt, and wrapped his coat around her, his black shirt was with short sleeves rather than his usual long sleeved. 'That should keep her warm for now...' He thought before reaching his cabin cluster, he swiftly moved to his cabin, placing her on his bed, which allowed him to work his training. First, he checked the vital signs of the small child, she was alive, kinda. Topping it off there was little damage internally. Now he was intrigued, he looked about the girl's body, within reason for her own privacy, for any signs of bruising or even lacerations. They were present, but few and far between, he jerked his head back, he was rather surprised by the shape the girl was in, "The hell?!" he asked himself seeing she was slipping in and out of consciousness, "hi there. I'm Attlas Minuet, may I ask what your name is?" Attlas asked, with a gentle, rather fatherly tone. He hoped that the little one could help him find out what the literal hell has happened.

---

"Decided to be one with nature again?" 'Humans, multiplying like bunnies since the beginning of time. Charming.' Faust vainly kept herself from rolling her eyes for once, keeping herself in check if only for the injured Goddess' sake; there was no turning back now, after all. Might as well kill two birds with one stone, actually-- get Frost somewhere safer to heal while immersing her in some form of society. At worst, what were humans but cannon fodder? (Titans certainly seemed to dislike them well enough.) 'If they would help a stranger, humans would protect anyone.' The presence of more bodies would certainly make it easier to escape provided, as she was thinking, that she'd only have to protect Frost.

As much as it seemed as though the humans were harmless enough, Faust watched with a careful eye as they interacted with the child-Goddess; rising as they did and lighting a new cigarette with an inconspicuous spark of fire. She would have to be careful if she had to stay away until dark, perhaps she could stay in the trees on lookout or something (although, by the looks that Frost kept giving her, that wouldn't be the best option)--

"That is if you want to come, I'm sure it's safer back at camp than to stay here in the woods." Faust paused (she'd been walking, following them until she could interject) and cocked a brow, her face looking a trace more relieved, before catching up with them again. 'That's... convenient. Huh, what'd you know?' "Neko, was it? Thank you, that would be perfect, actually-- I'd like to make sure the little one's alright." And, in an effort to come off less like a creepy stranger (and because it wouldn't entirely be a waste to be watching for monsters or incoming Titans), "It seems like I'd gotten a bit lost when I found her, anyway; these trees all look the same. If I can get some directions then I won't be by for long, if she's fine with you. I'm Faust, by the way."

Faust gave a rare, genuine smile then, just as they neared the cabin; before snuffing out the remains of her smoke so as to not get caught prematurely. She was fairly quiet as she followed (whoever she would, if she was sneaking in), taking note of exits and potential escape routes as she passed them. There was little for her to do once they came back to Frost and Attlas again, standing in the corner of the room, although she was markedly unsurprised at the extent of the Goddess' injuries. 'Thought so, I've never heard of a God that lives after falling off the Tower.' She wondered absently where the other major deities were, if Frost was alive then they could all very well be. 'What the fuck have they been doing?'

(Although it wasn't as though she was complaining about the monsters' extended freedom, now. It was certainly easier to get around on Earth, not that she'd ever had much of a problem.)

It wasn't until Attlas started speaking again that Faust suddenly remembered water, something that would probably help considering what Frost was a goddess of. Finding Neko, she asked in a somewhat low voice; "Is there any water around here? It might help the kid to have a drink." She considered for a second how to phrase the next bit, "It would be good to bring as much as we could, I think. Better to be safe than sorry."

"Mawhahaha take that you assholes!" Esme shouted at the handheld, the loud shout sounding foreign and strange with Esme's soft tone. Against her grandparents wishes Esme had to bring her psp with her since there wasn't an xbox, wii or playstation within a two mile radius of this place. So she had stuffed her backpack with as many games as she could and hoped she could survive the boredom this school camping trip was going to bring. Sure she had her friends here and they were awesome but nothing compares to a girl and her videogames.....well maybe except a girl and her best friend. She saved after she defeated the boss level and looked up, her violet eyes filling with surprise when she noticed she wasn't in her ~where she had started~ but she was surrounded by thick foliage, wild flowers and tall tree's.

"Shoot I did it again" she mumbled to herself, referring to her bad habit of walking around while playing her videogames. She doesn't even realize she's moving until her attention is off her game. There was one time when Ruby and her went to the beach and Esme being the person she is had taken her psp. Forty-five minutes later when she puts the handheld down she finds herself in a wooden boat stranded in the middle of the lake with Ruby looking for her on the beach. Esme has no idea how she unconsciously stole a boat but the owner of said boat wasn't very happy when she came back to shore. Talk about harsh winds, Esme was sure the owner could have just floated on the lake cause they had so much hot air. But at least on a lake Esme could see where she had to go but now......now she was lost. Sighing to herself Esme started retracing her steps. A half an hour of walking later she was just about to give up when she heard voices up a hill and she quickly scurried towards them. Relief flooded in her when she saw Neko and Attlas.

"Oh thank god! HEY GUYS!" Esme called out while waving at the group. She then ran over to them as quickly as she could only to stumble over a root and face plant into a rock. A mumbled curse slipped past her lips as she lifted herself up and rubbed her forehead. She was sure that would have made her bleed ~like it would to any normal person~ but like many times before when Esme looked at her hand no blood. It didn't matter how many cuts and gaping wounds she had Esme never bled and she healed really quickly. Ya she's a weirdo, no need to tell her she already knows. As Esme stood up she finally noticed the two strangers. One being a woman and the other a child, whom Attlas was holding at the moment. So unknown emotion flared in Esme and she acted on instinct as she rushed over to the child and inspected her. The child looked hurt and when Esme touched her the child's skin was ice cold. Very opposite of Esme's heated skin. She never felt cold in her life and the strange feel surprised her.

"So that's what cold feels like" Esme mumbled more to herself then to the other's. She heard the child's request for water and instantly reached into her backpack and pulled out of unopened bottle of water Esme had.

"Here" Esme offered kindly then pulled away from the girl.

"So should I run ahead and tell the nurse she's got a patient?" Esme questioned the two boys.

"So... We have an uninjured girl?"

---

((For future reference, Attlas' jacket is Green.))

Attlas shook his head, "I don't know there... She doesn't seem injured, but go ahead and get her anyway." he responded calmly noticing the scratch on Eseme's forehead, "Eseme... Do you need a bandage? You got a nice little scratch there." he asked, since he usually had a first-aid kit in his bag, being an EMT and all. Yet he looked at the girl, and sighed, asking a second question to her. It was a natural question since, a small girl in the middle of the woods without any parents nearby is something not seen too often with where they were and he lived. Thus he asked, "Hey, Jackie... Where are your parents? Wouldn't they be worried that you are out alone like that?" His words were soft, though had the same power that he always had within his voice and body, though it was covered in the calmness and kindness that he showed.

"Aww, I guess I'll just have to settle for second attack. Well that's a good plan, but I have to ask what you want to do if she found help of some sort from humans or a monster. I mean though we could probably take out either possibility, I want to know what you think we should do if this is the case?" Though it was a simple question, Miri had to think about it for a second. It's not like they can just go and kill them because that would distract them from getting Frost and that's what they were here for. "We can just kill the monster if there is one who's helping Frost escape." Miri said then narrowed her eyes a bit. A look she only puts on when she's thinking really hard. "I'd say to be cautious trying to kill a human. We hate to get into any human affairs. That would just slow us down and let Frost escape even farther." The titan concluded. She could feel the elevator plummeting towards the Earth at a fast pace. Weirdly, this was taking a while and it would have been awkward if it wasn't for the fact that Raidon and Miri were friends.

The elevator slowed to a stop and an ding echoed around the small shaft. They were finally at their destination. "Let's just hope that there isn't any monster. Or worst humans." She spat the word out like it was a bad taste in her mouth. It would be an understatement to say that she hated humans. The two titans walked out of the elevator and straight into wildlife. Frost had to have landed here. Miri drew her sword out and walked deep into the forest at a face past, though her feet made no sound. She didn't want to alert anyone of her presence. Then Miri stopped. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She planned on tracking Frost down using a ability that can locate people using emotions. This was a range from people around Miri to as far as another continent though really far places took a lot of energy. Miri concentrated of the aura of colors in the area. She could see Raidon's which was a blue and hers which was also a blue. But she needed to branch out a little more. In her mind she scanned the area farther ahead and then she spotted a group of colors.

They were ranging from black to green and Miri took the black one to be Frost. Opening her eyes, Miri looked at Raidon with a smirk. She pointed in the exact direction where she found the group of aura's. "Found her. She's in that direction. But..she has people with her. When push comes to shove, I want you to get the others away from there, I'll keep Frost at bay." And with that Miri took off in a sprint towards the area knowing that Raidon was right next to her. it was about time they got Frost and too be honest, Miri was feeling a little excited. She was going to have a battle with Frost. Even though she isn't her opposing God, she was in a very weakened state. They would be evenly matched much to her disinterest. 'What if my opposing god is here. What if the God of Darkness was helping Frost.' Miri gritted her teeth. She couldn't let stray thoughts get to her. Frost probably had a bunch of humans around her. She did fall from the sky. However, Miri couldn't shake that thought away.

"No problem, just so you know that when you initially walk up to the group I will stay to the side and walk up from a different direction, that way they might trust me more, and maybe I can get them to believe I'm human." Getting them to believe he was human was... pretty smart. Raidon had the features of a human and most humans didn't have orange hair and eyes with a large sword at hand. Miri continued to run closing in a little more on their targets. Her eyes casted over to Raidon who was swiftly running beside her, her speed nothing on him. They would have to get rid of his sword for the time being. Humans didn't wield heavy armor such as the ones he was wearing. When they got there they were going to have to strip him of his possessions and leave him in just his clothes. Miri didn't like that fact that she was leaving him defenseless. The Titan of Emotions wanted both of them to make it out of there without many bruises. They continued to run hurriedly and soon Miri could sense that were in the vicinity of the group. Far enough that the group couldn't see the two but the titans could see the group.

Miri reached to her waist and pulled out her daggers. She handed them both over to Raidon. A bit reluctantly seeing as she loved those daggers like they were her own. "I want you to use these instead of your swords and take off some of you armor. You look more human without them." Miri said. It took a second but Raidon's two swords and armor were eventually laying on the healthy forest grass unused. Miri didn't want him to go without armor. Somehow she didn't trust humans even if they were weaker than her. Miri peeked behind a tree and her eye caught six people. One of them being a child with white hair and bright blue eyes. She looked weak and Miri instantly knew that this was Frost. Rumor has it that Frost's human form was a child but no one got to see it or lived to tell the tale. Miri looked over one and saw a woman with whitish blonde hair and shockingly red eyes and Miri took a step back in shock. What was a monster doing there? The Titan gritted her teeth and looked at the rest hoping they were just humans. They were.

"Raidon...there is one monster and three humans. Frost is in her human form but it's a mere child. Rumors are as true as they seem. I take back what I said about no sword. We have to face this head on. The monster can probably already sense us so might as well come out of hiding. Pay the humans no mind." Miri was surprisingly having a hard time figuring out what monster the woman was. Something that Miri has seen only once before in her life. And that is a long time. Not only did this frustrate her, it was also the fact that her mind was convinced that more people were coming had her gritting her teeth even harder. She was starting to turn out like Orsus. That brought a small smile from her. Once Raidon put back on his gear Miri walked straight ahead and into their area. They could now see the two Titans as they stood in full armor and weaponry. Even after the circumstances, Miri still wanted to make it out with little bruises. Miri smirked a bit at the odd group. "A god, a monster, and some humans. What are the odds?" Miri said her eyes raking over each one as she spoke of their race.

"Let's not be cliche about this shall we, I really don't have the time." Miri said a hand moving to her hip in a 'I'm tired' gesture, though she was wide awake and alert. "We need the child. I would say the decision is up to you but it isn't." Miri said her hand keeping a firm grasp on her sword. It was now or never.

"I don't trust these two..."

---

Attlas looked at the two armoured people, they definitely looked powerful. On a quick glance, they were like gods almost, though he was taught the Gods and Goddesses were more kind than them. One was a young woman with red hair, her frame looked light, and as if she'd be a fencer. Though the second one, in all black with short black hair, in Attlas' mind he looked like a bloody wanderer. He knew the fight would be a loosing one, that was a given, though something within him kept him from letting them get what they want, the redhead spoke in a seemingly sharp and aggressive tone,

"We need the child. I would say the decision is up to you but it isn't."

This put a will to fight into Attlas, he took out his hammer, though hidden behind his leg, and spoke with a sincere voice that, to him at least, was unfamiliar, "I do believe it is my choice. She's a patient under my protection. Thus my choice, is a firm no." Attlas spoke, his face was determined, though he was internally confused as to what the hell was going through his head. Since he had said that, he wasn't going to back down from his words now, and soon enough he revealed his weapon, a hammer that soon grew in size, and was basically a warhammer, "You'll have to fight through me first. To get her." he sounded like the normal Attlas, cocky smile and all, he was ready to fight against these two to the death if he had to.

Esme just stared wide eyed at the strange pair. Were they crazy? Maybe they escaped from an asylum. A million different idea's steam trained threw Esme's head and a few of them made her giggle. She didn't know how long she was in lala land for but she knew she had to get out and help. She tuned back into the real world just as Attlas held out his hammer. Really?

"Your a dork you know that right Alltas? I've played enough videogames to know your hammer ain't gonna do nothing against swords, you need a long range weapon" Esme started rambling while she unconsciously took the small white haired girl into her arms ~jeez first thing Esme's doing when they get to camp is feeding the damn kid~ and started walking down the hill to camp, which was in sight. Once she shut up Esme dashed down the hill and straight into camp.

Plan of distraction: Rambling while stealing the child.

Plan went perfect.

Shit she left Attlas and Necholas ~and the strange chick~ back with the crazies. Attlas she going to beat her with his hammer. It wasn't her fault she kinda just....forgot about them.

Oh well.

Child were scurrying around the camp site, some giving her strange looks but ~like always~ Esme ignored them. She went in search for Rudy and found her walking around.

"Why hello sweet little star gazer, I need your help so I'm calling on the book of eternal best friendshipness and invoking rule 247, a favor you can't deny....you must feed this child for me while I go all videogame mode and some forest crazies ass" Esme exclaimed loudly, she made her voice deeper when she said 'book of eternal best friendshipness' ~an imaginary book Esme invented when her and Rudy were kids~ and gave Rudy a huge smile as she handed her the small girl.

"Thanks, bye Rudy Tudy" Esme shouted then rushed off. She had a thing for inventing nicknames for people no matter how ridiculous they sound. Esme ran into her room and took her suit case from beneath the bed, zipped it open and dug to the very bottom where she took out fire works and fire crackers. She's never been in a fight before how they hell was she suppose to know what to bring. Thats right she doesn't!

Once she stuffed them into her backpack she went to the kitchen and looked for some of the more flammable things then she took a lighter ~she already had a box of matches~ and ran to the archery area. She grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows ~quickly dipped the tips into some sort of flammable cleaner~ then ran as fast as she could back to the area she left Attlas, Nec, strange lady and the crazies.

"Time! hell ya only five minutes!" Esme shouted proudly while trying to catch her breath. She prepped an arrow.

"Alright you can continue" she wheezed while still trying to catch her breath.

Frost had passed out again in Attlas's arms but when she came to, she found that she was suddenly playing catch with the position of the ball. As the girl with black hair ran, Frost could see Miri and Raidon and bit down on her lip hard to keep from moaning. How had they managed to find her so quickly? Surely if they were here already Orsus was hot on her trail. Frost did not want to put all of these humans in danger, especially considering how kind they had been so far. Everything the other Gods had told her about humans was wrong, they were not selfish uncaring people; in fact the humans had been even kinder than some of the Gods themselves!

Frost was suddenly passed to another human and a trickle of blood squirt from her mouth. She surreptitiously glanced upwards at this new character, a stout strawberry blonde with glittering amber eyes. Or at least they looked to be amber in this light, they could have very well been brown. Frost tried to stay awake this time, she would be of no use unconscious, but then again she was also of no use to anyone dead.

Rudy, was that what the one with the silky black hair had called this human? Rudy was placing Frost on a bottom bunk in a small room, the only light source coming from a rather large window on the back wall. A warm cloth was pressed against her face, close to her lips and Frost was almost tempted by the lull of sleep. "I-I...." Frost struggled to prop herself up, "help... them," she gasped, trying to roll out of the bed. Why was her body taking so long to mend? It was then that Frost remembered Sora and her promise that she would make Frost suffer for that little stunt the Goddess had pulled before escaping.

After what felt like forever (but was most likely only a few seconds), Frost managed to sit up and winced at a loud noise that came from outside. "They're g-gonna k-kill," she began to stutter and took a deep breath; she needed to calm down. The Titans did not shy away from killing humans and she knew that even though Raidon had shown a bit of mercy when she was captive; Frost also knew that he had his own agenda. "Them..."

"Bloody fuckin' brilliant. Couldn't have sent a hydra or a minotaur, could you?", Faust muttered under her breath, sighing in mild exasperation at the two hostile figures. She'd seen it coming, of course-- shit always hit the fan one way or another, and usually faster than she liked; nevermind how her monster-senses had been tingling for the past hour. Faust wished, for once, that things wouldn't be quite so predictable (and therefore would make everything infinitely simpler) but then again, karma had never been kind to her in any respect, least of all this. 'And, fine, I might have underestimated Frost's worth a little. But really, two of them's a bit much.' At least it seemed as though the humans had a death wish-- some of them had the resilience of a damn cockroach. If they were this committed already, then perhaps the kid-God had a chance in their company. Who knew.

And Frost was safely... somewhere, anyway. Which, Faust admitted, was a pretty nifty move on the human's part; shame that they were facing terrible odds, kid might've made it to accomplish things. It made Faust feel a wee bit sympathetic, with the looming threat of imminent death, more if it weren't for the fact that it was looking mighty questionable whether or not she was going to make it out alive. Figured that a few centuries of peace meant a violent and entirely unjustified demise. 'Bloody fantastic, isn't it?'

She idly wondered if Cerberus was having a jolly enough time down in the Underworld. Maybe there was some kind of incredibly convenient teleportation spell (with a wand or something? She'd found Harry Potter extremely ridiculous a quarter through the first book) to switch her with him-- he'd always had more of a thing with fighting. Faust, though; 'too old for this shit'. What the fuck was it, anyway, with the psychopathic fascination? What was it that made Gods, Titans, monsters, and even humans so fixated on strength? Where did all the logic go, the philosophical intelligence to make rational decisions?

Obviously Life was a little mental, to make two of the greatest powers chase each other infinitely through time. Hate was so much a simple thing, the Gods and the Titans achieved as much as a dog did running after it's own tail. 'Which would be a great load of nothing.' Faust had never wanted anything to do with them, they were so fucking pointless--

"Time! hell ya only five minutes!"

--but Death was kind of a bitch. Both literally and figuratively. She still didn't want anything to do with them.

'Fuck.'

She sighed, taking a drag out of the smoke that had mysteriously appeared sometime between the Titans' arrival to now. Faust had been relatively silent and unmoving the entire while, weighing the options and her general level of commitment. She didn't really think Frost so personally important to so easily risk her life protecting her, but there was something a little like pity there (kid's stuck, half-dead, on earth with nothing but teenagers. Who wouldn't feel sorry for her?). If Faust wasn't keen on fighting, then perhaps being diplomatic could be worth a try. Barter for time, anyway. Most powerful beings were pretentious, easily baited into defending their pride-- something volatile, self-destructive.

Why were both of them still around, anyway? There certainly wasn't much stopping them from pursuing Frost: three humans and a monster. Laughable. 'Whatever.'

"Unlike them, I'm not suicidal", Faust shrugged, "Do as you will. But did you really deteriorate that much in the Underworld? For there to be two of you-- were Titans so weak to be unable to capture a mostly defenseless Goddess on their own?" If it hadn't felt like the height of summer before, it certainly did now; an unfortunate side-effect of Faust's betraying her alert nature. In all honesty, she didn't intend on bloodshed still, kid's just an asshole. "Or would you blame the throne, that living in the Gods' tower has made you weak? You've accomplished just as much as they have up there. Which would be, unless you'd like to enlighten me, nothing."

Her tone wasn't so much caustic as sarcastic, slightly mocking. She wasn't particularly threatening really, just being diplomatic. (Ha.)

Raidon


While they ran, Raidon thought of using his powers to dash ahead and meet the group first for his plan, but decided against it. once they reached a certain point, he unequipped his weapons and removed his armor. He just pushed the daggers away with a shake of the head when she tried to give him her daggers, he was sure he'd be fine. When Miri identified one as a monster, he was quite surprised. He didn't hear of monsters traveling with humans and a god often. Sighing he put back on his armor and re-equipped his swords. "That's a bit sad, I would have rather gone through this without interference." he said to Miri. He stood calmly if not a bit relaxed and observed instead of really talking. He noted stuff down in his head about each person as they talked. When the black haired girl rambled then ran away with Frost he smiled and stuck his hand in front of Miri, in case she tried to give chase. "I want to see where she's going with this, we can get Frost after we deal with this, if worst comes to worst I can just dash past them anyway." He let out a small laugh as the girl who was actually a monster spoke. "Big mouthed and brave not bad, would you rather me have sent the rook? You must know which one I am? Why not just go with your instinct and run before the storm breaks out?" He calmed down again after that. It was a bit sad, if they had met in a different situation Raidon might have tried to befriend her.

When the girl returned from wherever she took Frost with a bow, he couldn't help but let a small smile break, even with the odds against them they were going to try and protect a girl they probably had only recently met. He began to point at each in turn "The girl was right, your hammer will need to be held with a lot of skill to make a difference against swordsmen, though I applaud your determination to protect the weak. You girl are quite have some impressive thinking, a bow is a good idea and would be an advantage. Though in this case you are still quite out matched." Before he cold start on what he had gathered of Faust, she spoke. He stared her straight in the eye, the sky now matching the grey of his eyes as he continued charging it once Frost was out of the way. Though his right eye twitched once he showed no other sign of anger, though Miri could probably see the tiniest bit of red flash in his aura. "Well you see, we just arrived and hadn't had much time to search. I can definitely now say how you know what the underworld is like, would you like me to tell them any of my guesses as to what you are?" He suddenly thought of something. He leaned toward Miri and whispered so only she could hear. "Hey Miri? I have a plan to get you through them to chase after Frost. I can't tell you right now I just need to know if you agree or not."

---

"I-I...."

Rudy's eyes widened slightly and she pulled the cloth away. "I'm sorry! Is it too hot?"

"help... them."

She watched the child make and attempt to move, but struggled against her own weight. She was weak, tired. Esme had said something about feeding her. Maybe she was just weak because she was really hungry?

"Um, hold on a minute...let's see." Rudy pulled her backpack over to her and unzipped it as the child continued to try to sit up. The only thing she could find was a couple of granola bars. If she wanted to get her any real food she'd have to go to the kitchen, risking running into a teacher who might have seen her carrying the toddler earlier. She pulled one of the granola bars out of the back and turned towards the girl again, however she quickly dropped the bar on the floor as the girl sat up.

"Be careful!", she said as she gently put her hands on her girls shoulders to help support her. "They're g-gonna k-kill...them..."

Rudy's eyes widened and she felt her breath catch in her throat. Kill them? Did she mean Esme? "K..kill?" No other words left her mouth for a few moments. Was something seriously bad happening? Had Esme or the others gotten themselves into something dangerous? Who...who was going to ki--

Rudy took in a deep breath and swallowed, trying to calm herself down. "I don't really understand, but Esme can take care of herself. I'd trust her with my life." Rudy once again placed the warm cloth against the girls forehead. "But if there is something bad happening then please explain to me what it is." She gave the child a reassuring smile. "My name's Rudy. I know we just met but I promise you can trust me."

---

---

---

The school trip that Arthur had had no choice but to go on had turned out exactly as he'd expected it to; dull. It was just his luck that his cabin mate was one of the loudest kids in his class and on top of that their room was located furthest away from the kitchen, bathrooms, and center area of the camp. Of course Arthur didn't mind walking, but he still wished that he was closer to everything. Not to mention the few friends he had were all on the opposite side of the camp. If it was up to him, he would've stayed home and spent the weekend at home, but unfortunately he had a mother who wouldn't let him stay home from school unless he was on his deathbed.

With a sigh Arthur turned his face to the early noon sky. He'd spent a few hours just sitting outside before finally making his way to the kitchen and having himself breakfast. Now he was making his way towards the opposite side of the camp where his friends cabins were located. During his walk he spotted a rather unusual sight. Esme had come running into camp with what looked like a small child in her arms, handed her off to Rudy, and then went running off into the forest.

Arthur watched from afar the entire time, not nearly closed enough to hear any of the words exchanged between the two girls. After Rudy disappeared into her own cabin, Arthur was left with two choices; follow Esme or join Rudy and the smaller girl and see what the commotion was all about. He was more curious about the child, but he also wanted to know where Esme had found the girl and why she decided to make her way back into the forest rather than go to the cabin with Rudy.

That was it then, he would follow Esme. This turned out to be more tiring than he hoped it would be, saying as the girl ran the entire time and Arthur nearly lost her. Not that he couldn't run, he just preferred not to. After following her for a while he stopped and hid himself behind a tree a little further off. He figured it wasn't the best idea to walk in on whatever was currently happening. He wanted to know what was going on before deciding whether he should step in or leave. One thing was for sure though, this was far more interesting than sitting around all day at the campsite.

Esme heard a commotion from the camp, which was only down the hill from them. Usually you never take your eyes off the enemy ~common horror videogame logic~ but something nagged at her to look over. At first she noticed Arthur just standing to the side lines, but surprisingly she didn't blush and stutter over herself like usual whenever he was around but instead quickly looked past him down to the camp. The beat of her heart picked up a tempo when she saw a giant of a man walking around. What the hell is happening here?! Why couldn't this be like a normal camp trip, like come on!

Esme watched as the young girl, Jackie if she remembers correctly, walk out and stand up to the man. Esme's eyes widened when she watched a sword of ice materialize within the child's hands. Yet the emotion she felt was not surprise. Actually Esme was starting to get mad, her hot temper starting to poke its head out and a burning instinct to protect coursed threw her. At that moment she couldn't give two shit's about all the older classmates and teachers, all she cared about was the younger ones. The burning feeling within started to grow, as if a long kindled fire was starting to spark again. Before she could even think about doing anything different Esme's body reacted ~almost naturally~ as she reached for the lighter she put in her pocket and lit the arrow, which was already secure in her bow. A voice in the back of her mind urged her saying "burn, burn, BURN!" the voice shouted at Esme making itself clearly known to her. What was wrong with her? Is she crazy? Maybe this was all a dream. Either way Esme didn't think of the consequences when she shot the arrow at the giant man's leg, mentally telling the arrow to find a weak, tender, exposed part and make it burn.

And Esme never missed her target.