Chapter Text
Hannibal had never really left home before now. He was somewhere completely different, a different country and different people, nothing would ever be the same; he wouldn’t be the same. However, there was a constant amid chaos: a handrail for his support. Mischa. He still had her. Through all of the tossing and turning, all the routes of a maze he never knew he was in. He had his sister.
It was strange, all that had happened, his life turned upside down in a single second. Now he was on the way to a place he was told was safe, but how could he believe anything when his world was no longer his own? Mischa stood by his side, her small hand enclosed in his, her grip like a vice. He could hear her heavy breathing and could smell her fear. It was a salty smell, a mixture of sweat and adrenaline, but each person had a distinct difference. For his sister, it was a sickly sweet scent that imitated that of a lily. In their mothers language, he spoke “Viskas gerai, tu dabar esi saugus.” ( It’s ok, we are safe now). Even he could hear the falsity in that statement, but he desperately wanted to believe that it was true. The two of them were guided by Hannibal's instinct alone. His mental compass is telling them that this is the right way to proceed. The woods around them were tall and thick; they swallowed the light from the setting sun so much that it was almost as if it were night already. The shrubbery and bushes are dense and sharp; their only way through is the path that had been cleared before them. Hannibal knew that this path had to lead to some sort of civilisation, but he was sceptical of the type of people they would meet.
It had been days since they had left the house. House, not home. Home was far away from here even then it wouldn’t feel like home not anymore. Mischa was unaware of the horrors that sat in the house they had left behind, and Hannibal had no intention of telling her. Let her stay blissfully ignorant. He looked down at himself, His smart, expensive suit now in shreds, loose fabric hanging off him, stained red with his and his families blood. It had dried by now, especially in this heat. He should take his blazer off; it would help him move a bit more, but he doesn’t want to part with anything else. Right now, everything was precious.
His eyes wander to his sister. She was at least a foot smaller than he was. Her dirty blonde hair was tied in a messy ponytail that was full of stray twigs and leaves, all held together by a silk red ribbon. That ribbon was her favourite. Whenever she asked him to do her hair, she would always pick the same, it's not like she had no other options. Her dresser used to be full of ribbons with different fabrics and colours, yet she always came back to the simple silk red hair adornment. One thing he loved about her was her consistency; she was a creature of habit, even now, she had a special way she walked while with him, he couldn’t describe it, but he knew it was different than when she walked alone or with anybody else. Her strange habits helped ground him. She was dressed in a small pale yellow dress, but the colour was more brown. Mud and grass stains had permanently ruined it; it would never be the same. Her legs were exposed, bloodied, and bruised from their journey. He had offered to carry her, but she had declined, wanting to walk with him.
A scent filled the air, even Mischa could smell it. Bonfire. Maybe it was a family on holiday holding a BBQ or a group of teenagers having a party. Either way, it was a chance to escape. They had been wandering the woods for days, living on streams and fruits in the bushes. Hannibal allowed himself to get his hopes up if only a little; he could rest, able to sleep with both eyes closed. As they approached, they could see the glowing embers of the fire in the air above them and the sound of laughter. Hannibal quickened his pace, dragging his sister behind him. His hand reached for trees in front of him to propel him further.
Finally, he reached the clearing. Within was what seemed to be some sort of summer camp. He couldn’t have asked for a better result. He could find a councillor or an adult and ask for some help. But how does he know that they are not the same as the people who broke in? Maybe he would blend into the crowd of children, maybe he could use his people skills and convince them that they were just late arrivals. He decided the latter option was the better one and lent to his sister and whispered.
“Stengsiuosi sulaukti pagalbos, tiesiog būk su manimi ir nekalbėk” (I’m going to try and get help just stay with me and don’t talk)
The small girl nodded and gave him a hug before hiding behind him, her hand still grasping his.
Hannibal was a little nervous but didn’t let it show; his new confidence was key when lying. If you don’t believe your own lie, how can you expect others to? He walked into the clearing only to collapse onto the floor. He had forgotten how injured he actually was, and he was running on pure adrenaline. Now his body thought he was safe; it had just shut down. He could faintly hear people making a fuss around him and his sister. He tried to get up, but his arms had no strength, and his head pounded. All he could think about was how nice sleep sounded right now. That thought overcame him as his eyes slowly closed. His last sight was the worried look his sister was giving him.
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Will was fed up. Jack would not stop bothering him.
“ Come on, you should be training with Luke right now !”
“ I don’t want to, it's useless anyway, it's not like I’m going to fight anything anyways”
“You'd better be my finest half-blood I found as a seeker, you can’t just stay here all your life.”
Although Will had been at camp for almost 10 years, he could still remember when he first arrived.
He was on the run from his Stepfather. The biggest deadbeat in history, not only was he an alcoholic, but a gambling addict who had a penchant for certain pills that were not prescribed to him by a medical professional. As a person, when he was sober was alright. He took care of Will, fed him, clothed him, gave him a house to call home, but those were the good days, and they were few and far between. Most of the time, he was left alone in the shitty one-bedroom apartment that had more food for the rats than him. They moved a lot, too. His stepdad said it was because of work, but Will knew it was because he had run out of money to pay his gambling buddies, so they had to run. He had finally had enough after they had moved to Manhattan, and he had been left on his own for a week; he was hungry and dehydrated. He had left the apartment to find some food when Jack had spotted him and had grabbed him by his collar and dragged him to camp.
The entire journey there, all he said was that this was a big one. There was a rumour round camp that there was a major prophecy including a kid from The Big Three. Only problem is that the Big Three gods: Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades had made a pact after WW2 not to have kids anymore. So this kid would have been forbidden that is why Jack had been eager to be the seeker to find this special child.
He was rudely disappointed when Will got to camp and, for all nine years, has yet to be claimed.
He didn’t mind, though; it wasn’t like his dad was going to be in his life anyway, so not knowing his name wasn’t much different. He had to admit that it did bother him a little, though; he had gone through all of the options, but none seemed to fit.
The most likely was Hermes, but there were a few things wrong with that. Hermes was notorious for always claiming his kids as soon as they set foot on campgrounds, and it didn’t call out to him. He didn’t have the traits that most Hermes kids did; although he did look like most of them, he had no interest in any of the gods’ fields of influence.
Some of the other campers speculated he was an Athena kid. He had to admit he was good with his mind, but the others outshone him completely. He was like a toddler at a quantum mechanic’s lecture; everything they said went right over his head.
The only interest he had was fishing. Jack took it as a sign that he was a son of Poseidon, but gave up on that notion pretty quickly. Fishing was an activity he had for himself; no one else at camp seemed remotely interested in it, so it provided some well-needed alone time. Well, supposed to be alone time but today Jack had decided to join him and he could hear someone else approaching.
“ Hey Will, Jimmy said I’d find you here.”
Beverly Katz, Daughter of Athena and the only one here Will could call his best friend, though he would never admit it. She was too smart for her own good, her father was a forensic science professor at Harvard, and she spent her free time reading old scientific journals and studies. She came to camp just before Will and had been the first person to talk to him. She was the only one he didn’t mind sparring with; it felt like he was actually fighting, not going through movements for pretend scenarios.
“ Hey Bev”
“ Luke wants to know if you're coming to training today.”
“ Ugh, I don’t know.”
He didn’t mind Luke training. It was good for the average camper, but for long-term kids, it just felt basic and repetitive.
“ I know it's boring, but Luke needs to train the newbies too; besides, we could probably spar by ourselves in the corner.”
“ I guess I’ll come over in a minute. Can you take Jack with you? He is getting on my nerves.”
“Oi”
“ Come on, old man,” Bev started to tug at Jack's arms to get him to move. “ I’ll meet you there then, yeah ?”
“Yeah”
Will started to pack up his fishing gear when he heard a commotion around the bonfire. It had been a while since the last monster attack, and he wouldn’t be surprised if a stray monster had been attracted to the colourful flames.
He loaded all his stuff into his bag and drew his dagger, making his way to the bonfire.
When he arrived at the clearing, he saw nothing out of the ordinary, but a lot of kids were whispering to themselves. In the crowd, he saw everyone.
Beverly was in an intense conversation with Jimmy Price, Hermes' kid, who had a remarkable head on his shoulders. He and Will shared a bunk in the Hermes cabin. Next to him was Jimmy’s best friend, Brian. Brian was also an unclaimed kid and had the bed opposite Will and Jimmy. Will wasn’t really fond of him, but didn’t mind him being there. They sometimes talked, but it was mostly small talk. Jack was just sitting next to the three of them, listening intently and occasionally butting in.
Will walked over. “ What happened?”
Beverly looked over and smiled, seeing Will. “ A new camper, a girl and a boy. The boy wasn’t in great shape, so he and his assumed sister have been taken to The Big House under the Apollo cabins' care.”
“ Ah, right, is training still on?”
“ I think Luke is helping Chiron, so I don’t think so.”
“ OK”
So he had cleared his fishing gear away for nothing great. Also, he noted to himself to find a new fishing spot where no one knew where it was.
He was about to go back into the woods, but he had a strange feeling about the new kid. He thought about checking The Big House to see who it was, but decided against it for now. If the kid was in bad shape, better leave him be.