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Pure Vanilla carefully strung his bow with a yellow-tipped arrow, the blue fletching reflecting the sun beautifully as he stared down the target.
He exhaled, and released the arrow.
Thwack!
“Bullseye again? Jeez Nilly, can you be like us normal people and miss sometime?”
Shadow Milk strode over in his dull orange Camp Half-Blood shirt with ripped black jeans and his navy sweater, despite the insanely hot weather, he was very comfortable. Of course, being a son of Hades helped, because he was usually so unusually cold.
“Shadow Milk!” Pure Vanilla slung his bow over his back, spreading his arms to wrap his boyfriend in a tight hug.
He immediately backed up, “Woah, hot hands, if you get all cuddly I might melt in this heat. I can’t wear all this and be next to you.”
Pure Vanilla huffed and rolled his eyes, dropping his arms to his sides as he muttered, “Fine.”
The healer smiled at the necromancer, tilted his head in curiosity, “Any plans for today?”
Shadow Milk smirked in the way he did when he had a terrible idea, “So, you know today is capture the flag, right?”
“Right…?” Pure Vanilla muttered, “It’s Apollo, Hades, Poseidon, Hephaestus, with Athena leading against Demeter, Dionysus, Zeus, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes and the Hunters of Artemis, who asked to join because Thalia wanted to play a game while they’re in New York.” He frowned as he stared at the necromancer, “But I’m the designated healer for this game as usual, since Chiron says I’m Apollo cabin’s best.”
“Nothing saying you can’t help us though! Listen, I paid someone from Hermes to reveal their plans, and they said they’re planning on illuminating their flag so I can’t shadow travel to get the flag like last time. So, when Chiron is distracted by someone else, I need you to use this.”
He placed a black-tipped arrow in Pure Vanilla’s hand, “You have aim like no one else, Nilla. You make your dad proud with your scary accuracy, come on! It’ll be easy!”
Pure Vanilla winced, “Isn’t it cheating to help you?”
“There’s no rule against the healer helping their team! I checked!”
“Of course you did.” Pure Vanilla shook his head fondly, a soft smile on his face as he closed his fist around the arrow.
The healer took a deep breath and nodded, “Okay, I’ll do it for you , but what is this arrow, anyways?”
Shadow Milk beamed, “So you know how you have your light arrows?”
Pure Vanilla nodded hesitantly as Shadow Milk eagerly continued, “Well, I asked my dad if there was a way an arrow could release darkness instead of light. I did have to do some odd tasks for him, but he enchanted some arrows for me! He thought I was a genius when I told him what I was doing with it!”
The healer pressed a chaste kiss to Shadow Milk’s cheek as he whispered softly into his ear, “You are a genius, love.”
Shadow Milk grinned menacingly as he backed away from Pure Vanilla, “Well, Nilly, I’ll see you later.”
As he turned away, Pure Vanilla happily waved to him, “Love you!”
Shadow Milk rolled his eyes fondly, muttering, “Love you, too, I guess.” as he walked out of the archery range.
─ ⊹ ⊱ ⟡ ⊰ ⊹ ─
The different cabins gathered around the river, their armor and helmet plumes glinting in the afternoon sun. Pure Vanilla stood next to Chiron, his bow and arrow on his back with his quiver full of arrows. Although they were supposed to only be for defense when he ran to go help people, he had hid Shadow Milk’s arrow within the monotonous blue fletching all the rest of his arrows had, the only difference being it was tucked in a special pocket that he usually reserved for light arrows whenever his dad gave him some.
“Heros!” Chiron called, his voice echoing across the valley, “For those who are new, the creek is the boundary line, the entire forest is fair game, and the banner must be displayed out in the open, no obstructions, with only two guards! All weapons allowed! You may take prisoners, but no maiming or killing is allowed. I will be the referee, and Pure Vanilla will serve as the battlefield medic as always.”
Pure Vanilla smiled at the centaur as the heroes charged. He sighed as he saw blood already flying at the creek’s edge, but Chiron advised him to wait for him to go get the injured heroes and stay on the side.
It felt like ages before Chiron leapt into action, flying across the field to a downed daughter of Aphrodite on the far side of the creek.
“It’s time, Nilly .” Shadow Milk whispered in his ear, falling out of the shadow of the trees next to him, “I’ll be waiting for your shot. I have one more arrow if you need it, but you shouldn’t.”
Pure Vanilla pulled the shadowy arrow out of his quiver, notching it quickly as Chiron nearly reached the Aphrodite girl.
Fwoosh!
The arrow hit its target, and the area around the flag exploded into darkness. Pure Vanilla immediately strapped his bow back onto his back, very narrowly avoiding being noticed by Chiron.
He could hear the angry screams of the opposing cabins as Shadow Milk dropped out of the trees on his side of the creek, the flag held happily in his hands as his team exploded into cheers.
Pure Vanilla grinned, pride blooming in his chest as he watched Shadow Milk get enveloped in hugs and praise.
“Pure Vanilla.”
He slowly turned to Chiron, who had a tired, but amused look on his face as he shook his head, “Any idea how the flag got suddenly covered in shadows?”
Pure Vanilla plastered a smile on his face, “Nope!”
“Really?” Chiron tilted his head knowingly, “I only know a few marksmen in this camp, and they were all in my line of sight. Leaving only you who could shoot so accurately from way across the field.”
He paled as he nervously laughed, “I don’t know what you mean, Chiron!”
“It’s okay, I’m not mad, I never said you couldn’t help. I figured Shadow Milk would pull something after wanting to read the rule book.” Chiron shook his head, “But you are banned from helping from this point on, if you want to remain the designated healer.”
Pure Vanilla nodded as the centaur gently patted his back, “We’ve got a few with minor injuries, mind helping before you and Shadow Milk go off somewhere?”
“Of course!” Pure Vanilla rushed over to the nearest injured camper, his healing powers at his finger tips as he gently brushed his hand across the varying injuries, closing them as he went.
It didn’t take too long for all the injured campers to be healed and sent on their way back to their cabins to rest before the dinner celebration for the winners. Pure Vanilla wiped the sweat from his brow as he finished healing the last person, waving them out of the Big House as he leaned against the doorway.
“Good work as always, Pure Vanilla.” Chiron said as he walked up behind the tired healer, “Go back to your cabin and rest before dinner, alright?”
“Alright!” Pure Vanilla cried as he broke out into a job back to his cabin. He swung open the door, and was greeted happily by his cabinmates.
“Nice work, Nilla!” Custard Cookie III yelled as he ran up to the older healer, a grin on his face as he wrapped Pure Vanilla in a tight hug.
Wind Archer nodded off to the side, a knowing grin on his face as he leaned back onto his bunk, “Didn’t think you had it in you to cheat like that.”
“I didn’t cheat! Chiron said it was fine!” Pure Vanilla muttered, turning his head away.
“I’m just teasing, Nils.” Wind Archer walked over to him, looping an arm around his shoulders, “Besides, now Ares has to deep clean our showers again.”
Pure Vanilla shook his head and sighed, “Did you make a bet with them again?”
“Yep!” Custard smirked at Pure Vanilla, “They were so upset!”
The demigods talked about the game and other random things to do to the Ares cabin before dinner, their conversation flowing to other topics as they walked over to the mess hall for dinner.
A loud cheer erupted from the tables as the Apollo cabin approached, their allies singing Pure Vanilla’s praise as he shyly sat down at his table, a light red flush on his face from embarrassment.
“That’s my sharp shooter!” Shadow Milk said proudly as he slid next to Pure Vanilla, wrapping an arm around him and beaming at the healer, “I’m so proud!”
It took a while for the cheers to die down, mostly because Mr. D started giving everyone a death glare, but everyone settled down to eat after sacrificing a portion of their meals to the gods.
Pure Vanilla had thanked his father, of course. After the god had been sent down as a mortal, he became very involved in his children’s lives. So, naturally, Pure Vanilla had a decent relationship with him. He knew the god would be proud of his shot today, he couldn’t wait to talk with him when he came around next time.
Dinner ended quicker than Pure Vanilla thought, and he already knew Shadow Milk had something planned when he impatiently tugged on his sleeve.
Reluctantly, Pure Vanilla followed Shadow Milk out to the beach, where the necromancer haphazardly sat down on the sand, a stupid grin on his face as he waited for Pure Vanilla to settle in the sand before he leaned in for a soft kiss.
They sat together on the shore watching as the sun set, Pure Vanilla’s head resting on Shadow Milk’s shoulder as the son of Hades boasted about his ideas and plans for the future.
Pure Vanilla smiled up at his boyfriend, a warm feeling spreading over him as the sun sank down beneath the horizon and the day ended on a wonderfully high note.