Luna Silver: Daughter of Artemis: Chapter 32

Chapter 32 – Flaws
We were hiding in the bushes near the entrance of the cave. Cuinn wanted to see if there is anything else going on, the culprits might come out or something like that. He just wanted us to wait there.

“Why aren’t we still going inside, again?” Nico asked as we both stared at Cuinn.

“My instincts tells me to just stay put here for now.” He answered calmly.

I nodded and sat down across from both of them, “Okay.”

After a few minutes of silence, Cuinn suddenly spoke towards me that caught me off guard, “Why have you been avoiding us?”

“What are you talking about--?” I staggered.

Cuinn shook his head sturdily and told me, “I know you’ve never been comfortable around us before and always been uncomfortable around us.”

Nico put a hand on his shoulder and spoke, “But ever since we met up with Psyche and Eros…”

“You’ve been avoiding us more.” Cuinn added.

I clenched my jaw and held on to myself. If I let my instincts and unconsciousness do whatever it wants to do, I would’ve punched them both straight in the face. But I couldn’t, I held my ground. I clenched the ground under my palms, glared at the bushes rather than them. The wilder side of me didn’t want to prove Eros’ words to be true and not tell them, but the other side, the logical one, is saying to tell them and be done with it. I owed them enough to tell them that much.

I heaved a sigh and looked at them straight in the eyes. “Eros told me something before we left.” I started and stared at them, seeing that they didn’t make a move to react, I continued. “He told me about my flaw.”

“So what?” Nico mouthed at me, “Everyone has flaws.”

Cuinn nodded, “And the flaws makes up that demigod. A flaw is a pert of you. Why try to hide it?”

I shuddered and positioned my body into a ball, hiding my face on my knees, “I’m not hiding it or anything!” I urged, “It’s just…” I didn’t finish.

“Tell us, Luna.” Cuinn insisted on me.

“He told me my flaw.” I said as my voice cracked.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“What is it?” Nico asked.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">I bit my lip as I afraid to let the words out of my mouth. They kept on supporting me that the will accept it, yet I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t say it even though I knew they were true to their word.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">And it hit me. Eros was right. Even now, by not just saying it, he was right. Just by being double-minded about these two, he was making a point.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">The feeling of guilt and dread passed me and spoke to them in a calm, quiet voice. “He said… He-He said my f-flaw was …” I felt cold tears start to stream down my face; I wiped them on my knees since my face was still hidden from them, but I know my feelings weren’t so lucky to be hindered. “I couldn’t trust easily. I couldn’t --- trusts … so easily like others can, es-especially your kind, the kind with Y chromosomes.”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">There was silence.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">I looked up and saw their bewildered expressions. “It’s not that I don’t trust you!” I started to argue, but it felt I was only arguing to myself, “It’s just that …” I didn’t speak. I didn’t know what to say.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">Cuinn smiled at me, “You trusted us enough to tell us about it.”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">I relieved smirk spread across my face, “Yeah.” I agreed, “I did.”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“See?” Nico patted me on the back, “No harm done.”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">I wiped my face, “But there’s more.” I told them quickly.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“More?” they inquired. I bounced my head and answered, “But it’s not as serious as the other one.”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“Okay…” Nico said, “Shoot.”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">I exhaled noisily and said, “Eros also told me I’m too independent. That’s why I can’t trust people easily because I’ve learned only to trust myself.”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“You trusted Gran-Gran.” Cuinn pointed out.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“Trust and Love have different definitions.” I countered.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“Yet always in the same package.” I told me with an amused smiled. I was smiling too, to my surprise. All this time I always made a distance when I didn’t have to. I had real friends with me.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“My flaws are keeping grudges. It’s a normal thing in my family.” Nico said eyeing his black sword as he slowly summoned it from the ground, making his point on his godly family.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“Do you have a flaw?” I asked Cuinn, “Or are you Mr. Perfect?”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">Cuinn made a face but grinned at me, “No. I have a flaw.”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">I stared at him while Nico grabbed his sword and put it beside him, “Go on tell her.” Nico urged.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“You know his flaw?” I asked Nico.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“We’ve been in Camp for quite a while.”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">I nodded and faced Cuinn, “Tell me.”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“I have the flaw for wanting to know all the knowledge that exists.” Cuinn told me, his voice afar.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“Oh yeah?” I told him, “What’s my height?”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">He answered in a matter of fact tone, “four feet ten, Nico is five feet four, and I am five feet six…”

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">“Okay! I get it.” I told him, avoiding the long speech.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt">Suddenly, we heard a rumble inside Mt. Skylight. We decided to peek and then from a large square hole that seemed to be the window, we saw a giant with messy reddish brown hair and big dark brown eyes, he was holding something in his hand, he seemed to be gripping too hard as the object in his hand was fighting against him, when I zoomed in on what or who the giant was gripping, my heart almost stopped – the giant was gripping Artemis.

<p style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:499.3pt"> ℓʋиα ƨιℓvɛя iƨ α wιɛяdgιяl [ bαdɛ iƨ bɛck+jαdɛ ♥]  11:26, June 2, 2011 (UTC)