Bewitched || P. Jackson

𝕊toll survival guide

Nicki felt on edge as the sun quickly sunk beneath the horizon. Her skin tingled with anticipation the longer she waited for dinner to end and Capture the Flag to begin. The torches and braziers kept the outdoor pavilion warm.

Percy was alone at the Poseidon table. Thalia sat alone at the Zeus table. Nicki sat silently beside Nico at the Hermes table. Bianca sat in the middle of her new friends at the Artemis table like she never belonged anywhere else.

Zoe Nightshade looked pretty upset. She kept glancing resentfully at Chiron like she couldn't believe he was making her do this. The other Hunters didn't look too happy, either. Unlike last night, they weren't laughing or joking around. They just huddled together in the dining pavilion, whispering nervously to each other as they strapped on their armour. Some of them even looked like they'd been crying.

"Go away." Nicki caught Connor Stoll's hand as he stretched out to steal one of her slices of pizza after he had finished his plate. Her gaze only broke from Bianca's back when the table fell silent. "What?"

Nicki slowly released the grip she had on Connor's hand and held her hand into her stomach like it was injured. Connor open and shut his mouth like a fish bubbling for air. Incoherent noises left his mouth as his ears tinted pink. Travis leant around his brother and Nico, peering at Nicki.

"What my brother means," he said carefully, "is how did you do that?"

"What do you mean how?" Nicki's voice was quiet as she found herself under the stares of the whole cabin. "I saw him reaching for my food so I stopped him."

"Driscoll, you were facing the opposite direction."

Nico's lips flew up into a grin, his eyes shining. "Nicki's magic! That's how she did it."

Nicki elbowed the boy sharply, her demeanour resolving into panic. Nico's face fell slightly. His eyes scanned the shocked table and he felt himself tuck into Nicki's side. Travis and Connor seemed to still be digesting the news as they stared blankly back at the pair.

"You're magic?"

Nicki nodded softly at Travis.

"As in like a magician or you can... cast spells?" Connor spoke slowly, trying to find the right words.

"She does spells," Nico said, his voice muffled by Nicki's protective arm around him. "She can summon things, and make shields, oh and fires, and um..."

"I can change the weather for small periods of time, I can turn people into animals, I can levitate things, y'know the whole sha-bang."

Travis' face lit up. He and his brother shared a look, communicating silently with each other. Connor smirked before they both turned to wear Percy was sat by himself at the Poseidon table.

"We call Nicki!" They spoke in unison and Nicki wanted to crawl under the table as the whole camp went silent as they turned to look at her. Travis and Connor shared the same identical grin and Thalia buried her head in her hands.

"Of course you get Nicki, she's on your team." Thalia's head was still in her hands as she spoke, but Travis and Connor weren't phased.

"But Thalia! She's magic! And—"

Whatever they were going to say next was cut off by two shimmering purple hands clamping over their mouths. Travis let out a distant cry as he attempted to yell at Nicki, who was now just eating a slice of pizza.

"Just go back to your dinners." She muttered, taking a bite of her pizza. "And you two," She pointed at the Stoll brothers, her eyebrows furrowed, "have lost talking privileges now."