Dove 'Kitty' Nekko

Chapter One: When I hear felines speak
Hello, you’ve probably heard of me. I’m the last and probably the first known demigod descenant of Pan, the god of the wild. Yeah, yeah. I know he’s gone. Faded away. Gone. Dead. I told you, I’m a descendant, not his daughter. Whatever.

But I can judge by your confused expression that you do not know me. All right, I’ll give you an explaination. I’m Dove, an animal lover and Sister and Friend of all Cats. I have no last name, so I made one up. Nekko. The Japanese word for cat.

’Well, might as well be Nekko since I love cats’ I thought, and boom, I was Dove Nekko. But my friends love to call me ’Kitty’ and it stuck as my middle name.

So I’m Dove ’Kitty’ Nekko at your service. My mum and da’s both dead, so I’m an orphan.

From what I remember, my da died before I was born, and Mum was an environmentalist, and died giving birth to me. So I had no name, and I named myself. Here I am, my first and last name created by me, and my middle name by my friends.

Nuff said about my name.

But beware. If I catch you calling me ”Pussy”, ”Poor little kitty” or ”Kitkat” then you’re a dead person. The last person who called me ”Kitkat” that now practically lives in a hospital as a VIP patient now, suffering from numerous bruises and scratches, plus two broken ribs and one broken leg plus two missing teeth. I hate Kitkat. It makes me sound like a chocolate bar. So naturally, the kid’s parents called the cops on me, and I’m on the run. Again.

<span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">I had a moment of De <span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">ja <span style="letter-spacing: 0pt; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 굴림; mso-hansi-font-family: 굴림;"> <span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">vu as I ran.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Anyway, all the strange things in my life started when I was a day before thirteen. It all started something like this....

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Screech! I was running from a police car. Although they irritated me, they could never follow me. I had better stamina and speed than a normal person, because of all the time spent running from police cars.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">My tips? Well, it’s kinda hard to drive a car in the mountains. So they followed me on foot, which was stupid of them.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">I soon stopped at my makeshift home, a tree house in the trees. Duh. I climbed up, and started to tend to my small scratch from tripping on a branch earlier. Then I felt a small, warm, and furry thing curl up in my side. Looking down, I saw it was a small grey tabby kitten. I immediately put it in my lap, and started stroking it. It let out a purr, and looked up at me. ’Thank you, Miss’

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">I jumped, and the kitten bristled for a moment before going to a corner, and watched me. ’How does it know my name?’ I wondered. ”You’re a descendant of Pan, the Greek god of the wild. And... Where are my manners! I am Mia” Mia mewed.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">I was confused. Pan? Greek god? Me? It was then I realized I could hear the cat speak, and I could understand her. ”Are you sure <span style="letter-spacing: 0pt; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 굴림; mso-hansi-font-family: 굴림;">… <span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">” I started to say, and I stopped.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">A lot of things started to make sense. The way wild animals never attacked me. I remembered once a deer had distracted the people chasing me long enough for me to escape, when I had been younger. The way I always thought I could hear animals talk. So it hadn’t been my imagination when I heard a bird chirp ”Good morning!” to me when I had woken up.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">”Usually, descendants don’t have much power like the sons and daughters of gods and goddesses, but you’re special. You have as much power as if you were a daughter of Pan, Miss” Mia mewed, and stopped, her fur starting to bristle.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">I stopped too, and listened. Then I heard it. An omious growl from the forest was coming to me. ”We need to run, Miss!” Mia yowled.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">”Wait a moment! And don’t call me Miss, I’m Dove Nekko.” I said, not knowing I had been speaking cat all the while. I hurriedly packed my few belongings, mostly books, a spare set of clothes, and my money. I sure had a lot. If you’ve been looking for a get-rich-slow way, just wander the streets and alleys. People always drop change and stuff. I had never counted my money, but I was sure there was over fifteen dollars.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Okay, back to the present. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, and ran off after Mia. Boy, was I glad of the days spent running from police. Mia sure ran fast, like a cat should.

<span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Chapter two: I speak to a bunch of trees
<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">We soon neared a countryside, and I knew as soon as we went out, we were easy to spot. I was desperate, and I yelled the first thing that came to mind. ”Anybody HELP!” There was a rumble, and a herd of bulls charged the monster, and we were free. We ran, and we soon had to stop at a town. ”We need to get to camp” I heard Mia murmur. ”What camp? How do we get there?” I asked her. Mia looked up at me. ”Call the trees” She said simply. ”What?” I said for the upteenth time in a row. ”Ask the trees to help you, the dryads should help you.” She said. ’Okay, ask a couple of trees to help. It shouldn’t be hard’ I thought, and went to the nearest tree. ”Err..I’m Dove Nekko, and I was wondering if you could help get me to...” I looked at Mia for the place. ”Camp Half Blood” She supplied. ”Camp Half Blood” I finished, expecting nothing to take place. So I wasn surprised when a person suddenly popped out of the tree, and I actually screamed. ”Oh, we’ve been waiting for you, Miss! Of course we’ll help you to go. But it’ll be a rough ride!” The dryad said with excitement, and I was abruptly tossed to the top of the tree. ”Mia!” I called out. I could see the gray tabby looking up at me. ”Don’t worry, I’ll meet you there, Dove!” She yowled, and I was tossed from tree to tree. The dryad was right. It was a rough ride.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Imagine you’re in a 4D ride, and you’re in the part when you ride a horse. Now imagine what you would be feeling if you rode it without your seatbelt strapped. Take out the amusement, multiply the tossed-around thing by ten, and add in mixed parts of fear, curiousity, and mostly shock. That’s how I felt.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">I was flung out of a treetop into a grassy hill. I braced myself for a hard landing, but the grasses themselves cushioned my fall. Shaking, I got up to my feet. A dryad popped out of a tree, and giggled ”Have a nice time at camp, Miss!” and disappeared with a poof. ”Don’t call me Miss, I’m Dove” I muttered, and I swear I heard more giggling. I glared at them, and turned to look at the top of the hill. There was a big pine tree, and I saw someone coming up from behind there, and I panicked, thinking it was people come to take me away to jail. I was about to run when I heard a low mew at my feet.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">”Don’t worry Dove! You’ll be safe here!” I looked down, and saw Mia. ”How did you get here?” I said. Mia just purred, and replied ”Cats have their own secrets” ”Fine then. Don’t tell me” I huffed, and was soon met by a gaggle of people.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">”Who are you? What’s you’re name?” One asked, and another fashionable girl asked

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">”What happened to your clothes?” I looked down, and saw grass stains. A boy was excitedly telling everyone of my arrival. ”She came here by tree! I saw her tossed from a tree to here!” I was nervous from being around so many people at once. Mia must have felt it too, because her fur was fluffed out. But I knew I was in a safe place. ”Don’t worry, Mia” I said to her, and I became self consious as I saw the campers looking at me with a mixture of shock. ”Y..You just spoke in cat” One stammered. I noticed she had light blue eyes. I finally got the courage to speak, and said

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">”Well, can’t you do it, too? By the way, I’m Dove Kitty Nekko.” As I said it, I winced. I never told my middle name to anybody. I heard snickers ”Kitty?” I glared at them, and they seemed to get my message. I looked behind them, and saw a centaur galloping down the hill. ”So, you’re Chiron?” I asked. Hey, I said some of my possessions were books. One of them happened to be about Greek Mythology. Chiron gazed at me, his look long and searching. He then announced ”Take Dove to the Big House.” I was led by several happy campers as they introduced their names. Michael, Serena, Lily, Braydon, Susan, Rose, the one who was startled by my speaking cat...There were so many names to count.

<span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Chapter three: I get a magic jewelry set
<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">After the entire meeting and blah blah blah, I finally had the chance to shower and dress into new clothes, indigo jeans and an orange Camp Half Blood shirt. At the camp, I saw people sparring with swords, and several canoeing, and some where making things in where I figured was the arts&crafts place. Rose Glasco was showing me around, and I figured I’d better listen to her. ”So are you undetermined?” She asked me. I was caught off course. Mia looked at Andy in my arms, and mewed to me ”You’re a descedant of Pan. You’re determined” ”What did the cat say?” Rose asked me. ”Um.. Well, Mia told me I’m determined. I’m a descendant of Pan” I finally said. Rose’s eyes stretched wide. ”Wow! Determined already! Who are your parents?” She asked. ”Dead” I told her curtly. ”Oh, I’m sorry! And... Did you know you have violet eyes?” She hurriedly asked, trying to change the subject. ”As a matter of fact, I didn’t know.” I said. Rose handed me a mirror, and I got to see myself clearly for the first time, because I had never owned a mirror, nor used one. I saw a girl with purple eyes, with a tinge of blue. My hair was black, and long. My eyes were very slightly tilted upwards, giving me a look of Asian.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">”Oh wow” I breathed. Rose laughed, and I got the feeling she would be a good friend.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">After Rose and I finished the tour, I went to sit by myself in by the trees when I saw another dryad once again come to me. ”I’m Holly, Dove. I have something for you”

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">So I followed Holly to where a couple of holly bushes were. Holly looked around for a moment, and reached her and under the bushes. She then took out a black wooden box. ”Here” She whispered. ”It was made by Hephaestus when we told him of your existence. Open it.” She said, smiling.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">I opened it, and found a pendant necklace, and two rings. They were all made of gold and bronze together. ”Imperial Gold and Celestial Bronze. We made this after the Romans were discovered using Imperial Gold, so this is the result. Try it on.” She urged. I clasped the pendant around my neck, and slid the two golden bronze bands on. The bands were decorated with a sapphire each, which I found pretty. I looked at the pendant, noticing that four sides of the crystal in the center would flash different colors if I held it horizontally. ”A crystal compass.. Cool” I breathed. ”Press it” Holly said. I pressed it, and the crystal popped forward on a hinge, revealing an empty storage space, bigger than it seemed on the outside. ”For emerfency supplies of ambrosia, or other things” Holly said. I then closed it, and studied the rings. ”Think about claws, the claws of a cat” the dryad instructed. ’Claws’ I though, and yelped as I was suddenly equipped with Gold and Bronze claws. I nearly speared myself. ”Good for close combat. Now, pull one of the claws out” She said. I tugged on one, and it came off, and I was armed with a throwing knife, presto. I experimented with all of my claws, and found that the middle ones, one on each of the hands, would morph into a dagger with the hilt decorated with the sapphire. ”How do I put these back?” I asked Holly. ”Touch one of the sapphires” Holly said. I thouched it, and with a tiny click, I had on two rings again.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">”Wow, thanks, Holly” I said. ”No problemo” She said before disappearing in a poof of green mist.

<span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Chapter four: Bunking in the Demeter Cabin
<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Because there was no Pan Cabin, Chiron made an expection and I was placed in the Demeter Cabin. It was because the Demeter Cabin was the closest to Pan. I was delighted to find Rose Glasco was a child of Demeter, and we slept in bunk beds, me on the bottom, and Rose on the top. I liked it because I could decorate the ’ceiling’ of my bed.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">But it was irritating to go out, and see satyrs bowing to me and murmuring ”Descendant of Pan. Pan.” I finally told them to call me Dove and stop bowing, and things went to normal. Because of my unusual weapons, claws, I took lessons from who else? Mia. With the knives and dagger? I took knife throwing lessons from Apollo girls and daggers from both Demeter and Athena cabin. Lily, daughter of Apollo, soon discovered I was hopeless at archery. The arrows kept having no power, and would wobble, and simply fall down on the ground. So we just concentrated on Knife Throwing, which, to my surprise, was just fine. Daggers? I was a natural. I beat the Athena guys, even. I promised to spar with Mark, a son of Ares, tomorrow, and I was a bit nervous, yet excited at the same time. I had to be careful with my claws, as well...Mia got a little carried away teaching me, and now I probably could seriously injure somebody. I mostly spent my time either honing my skills, or spending the time in the gardens of Demeter kids. They gave me a small plot, and I tried my best to cultivate the plants, but they were puny. Frustrated, I left the garden, and several weeks later, I saw my garden was overgrown, growing wild, but my fruits proved to be bigger and more delicious. Go figure. Pan= God of Wild. Demeter kids’ garden=not wild. My garden=Wild.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">I guessed I was more good at caring for wild plants then cultivating them carefully. Rose and Louisia, another Demeter friend, almost had a heart attack when they saw my ’garden’. Louisia was a blond, white girl with green eyes. She had a very light sprinkle of freckles across her face, which made her look cheerful and active, which she was. Rose sighed, and said ”Well, the fruits are delicious.”

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">I had to take care not to get too close to the strawberry fields, or the strawberries suddenly began growing like mad, and once, I almost got myself tangled in their wild growth. Of course, all Rose had to do was snap her fingers, and pop! the wild strawberries were back to normal. The Demeter kids were nice to me, so I introduced a couple of garden snakes in their gardens. I almost got killed by the girls until I got to explain that the snakes would keep out any rodents.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Mia became known to the campers as my ’pet’ cat, but I knew better. Mia was not a pet, she was my friend. I relaxed in the sunshine, satyrs around me trying to get my attention. I was still a somewhat celebrity among them, no matter how much I protested. I flexed my ’claws’, which I didn’t name yet. I didn’t hang much around the boys of camp. I didn’t like romance, yet I wasn’t keen to join the Hunters of Artemis. I didn’t want to be immortal.

<span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Chapter five: Two propecies in one day.
<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Look, my best friends are my best friends. How would you feel if a propecy said you’re destinied to fail at your friend’s hand. But if you think ’Anybody fails’ then think again.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Well, if you fail at a quest, result is 90% death. So generally, I’m suposed to assume I’m to die because of my friend. La dee dah. Fun.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Well, the problem was that both Apollo’s and Artemis’s ’stuff’ got stolen, and we were about to pick some campers to go on a quest to retrieve them, or suffer endless darkness. The things that were missing was : Apollo’s sun chariot, and Artemis’s sacred deer that pulled her chariot. So techically our sun and moon got captured.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">We were at a campfire, when our oracle got mugged by the Spirit of Delphi. Lissa, our oracle, suddenly stood up, glowing green, and we all dropped our marshmallows and s’mores on the ground, causing a lot of bugs to be happy. What was weirder was when Lissa turned to look at me, and a green mist snake came from her mouth. I almost choked with shock. ”Ask a question, Dove!” Rose hissed quietly from beside me.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">”Um..What will my quest be like?” I asked, realizing I was about to be assigned the quest. Lissa spoke, her voice like a dozen snakes hissing in harmony. Not a pretty voice.

<p class="0" style="text-align: center; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Daughter of the Wild, beware the fire 

<p class="0" style="text-align: center; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">To fail at a friend’s hand 

<p class="0" style="text-align: center; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;">''<span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Will be the danger so dire. ''

<p class="0" style="text-align: center; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">To run, swim, and fly, 

<p class="0" style="text-align: center; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">To find the thing you seek 

<p class="0" style="text-align: center; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">As days pass by 

<p class="0" style="text-align: center; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">A sacrifice to save a friend 

<p class="0" style="text-align: center; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">A secret to keep 

<p class="0" style="text-align: center; text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">Until the end 

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">And Lissa opened her eyes, and took a deep breath. ”Okay, what did I say?” she asked. I was still stunned by the prophecy, so Rose answered for me. ”Daughter of the Wild, beware the fire/To fail at a friend’s hand <span style="letter-spacing: 0pt; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 굴림; mso-hansi-font-family: 굴림;">《 <span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">/Will be the danger so dire/To run, swim, and fly/To find the thing you seek/As days pass by/A sacrifice to save a friend/A secret to keep/Until the end.” Lissa took a deep breath. ”Well, I wish you luck on the quest” She said simply. ”Who will you take?” Chiron asked me. ”Um..Rose and Louisia. I’m also going to take my cat, since she doesn’t count as a person.” Louisia looked astonished, and Rose was looking equally shocked. ”Of course, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.” I said. ”No, I want to come! I was so shocked! We’ll have to prepare ambrosia, nectar <span style="letter-spacing: 0pt; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 굴림; mso-hansi-font-family: 굴림;">… <span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">” Louisia squealed, and Rose glared at me teasingly. ”If you leave me behind, I’ll track you down” She said in a very ,unDemeter childlike voice. I laughed, and said ”Well, let’s pack our stuff!”

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">I spread all the things I’d need on my bed. ’IM flashlight, check. Spare clothes, check. Ambosia and Nectar, check. Toiletry, check. A very warm sleeping bag, check. Some bottled water and canned tuna for Mia, check. A can opener plus a saucer, check. 10 drachma and 50 dollars, check. All set!’ I mentally thought. I put the money, food and drink, both godly and mortal, and the can opener in the pendant in my necklace. So to any camper who bothered checking my bag would think I had only packed the sleeping bag, toiletries, IM flashlight, and a spare set of clothes.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">The next morning, I put nearly all of my food from the plate into the bronze brazier as a sacrifice to all and every one of the gods. As a result, I think I must’ve looked pretty silly going back and forth between the food and the fire. But hey, I needed the support. Pan was gone, so I figured I should give a sacrifice to all the gods, since I don’t have a personal god to give sacrifices. I finally settled down and ate my smoked salmon and tuna, with Mia. I had developed a taste for cat food, especially raw fish. My favorite is salmon. Mmm, delicious. Okay, back on track. We all said goodbye, and we set off out of camp when I wondered where should we look first. Rose looked at me as if I was stupid when I asked them. ”We need to go to Olympus first. To ask Apollo and Artemis, of course.” I felt completely foolish. ”You know, you could almost pass for a daughter of Athena.” Louisia teased. Mia was neatly curled up in my arms, and kept on the lookout.

<p class="0" style="text-autospace: ; mso-pagination: none; mso-padding-alt: 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt 0.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; font-family: 굴림; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 굴림;">”Okay. How should we get there?” I asked. Louisia rolled her eyes. ”By walking” She said. ’There is a faster way’ Mia told me. ”How?” I asked her, consious of my friends staring at me. ’You could use your powers... Like calling wild horses’ mia suggested, pointing with her cute paw to some horses running wild on a field. ”Okay” I said in catspeak, and switched to English. ”Mia says there is a better way. Let’s ask those horses over there.” Rose and Louisia gasped with shock as I approached the horses more boldly than I felt. ”Um.... Could you” I started, and realized I was speaking cat. I switched to horse, and started again. ”Could you give us a ride, like to Manhattan? The Empire State Building? Or somewhere near, I don’t care.” The horses looked at one another in probably amazement that a human was speaking to them. ’Who are you? Why should we give you a ride? We are wild horses, not your tamed steeds.’ ”I asked you because you are wild. I’m Dove, descendant of Pan, the God of the Wild” I said, and the horses were immediately tripping over themselves to apologize, and of course they’d carry us and such. I called my friends over, and we soon were riding bareback on a horse, which was kinda uncomfortable for us, but it was fun riding the horses, which I had never done before. Naturally, I almost got thrown off a couple of times and once, Rose even slipped off, but we managed to get to the edges of Manhattan, without suffering major damage.