Daughter of Cupid (Luke Castellan fan fic)

I'm wanted more dead than alive

The next week went by slowly, where part of me wondered who was trying to avoid who.
At some times Asclepious would be standing a good twenty yards from me and we'd share a glance, but then he would take off towards a class.
Same went with me. If he paused in front of a building I was coming out of, I would continue on my way as if I hadn't seen him.

It's terrible of me, but I feel awful after that awkward rejection that one night. He obviously never meant for it to happen, and it's obvious I did.

"Yo.......Carys! You even listening!?" Ej questions, tossing a grape at me.

"Huh?"

"She's been doing that a lot lately." Annabeth smirks, approaching the table after offering a lamb chop to Athena through the fire.

"Well thanks a lot! I finally have the perfect way to woo a girl, and my own sisters can't even pay attention." Ej mutters, throwing a sleeping Aimee an annoyed glance. I know how she feels. Midterms are a pain.

"What are you talking about?" Percy questions, taking a seat across from Annabeth.

"I'm talking about Daphne Reynolds. The...."

"Daughter of Aphrodite, Daphne Reynolds?" I ask, finally getting my thoughts away from Asclepious.
I've noticed Ej has been massively crushing on her, but to say she was out of his league was an understatement. Daphne has seemed too occupied with some Apollo guy to really give Ej a second thought.
Not that I'm cruel enough to point this out, though...
"What about her?"

Ej grins. "I found out she loves........SNOW!" He crows, looking pleased with himself.

I throw a questioning look to Percy and Annabeth, who just shug at me.

"Is that code for something...?"

Ej looks flabbergasted. "SNOW! You know, wintery white goodness!?" He looks around at us. "Well, she LOVES it, and Jason agreed to change the weather so it would snow.

I stare over at Jason two tables away in horror.
"SPARKY! You did NOT agree to snow, did you!?" I yelp out, horrified by the thought.

Jason's blonde head lifts up to notice me. "Damn straight, cupie! " He grins, swallowing a spoonful of mashed potatoes.
Nico throws me a thumbs up from Jasons table.

I groan, hitting my head against the table in front of me.

Ej throws me a questioning glance.

"I hate snow....I hate cold in general." I grimace.
There was a time when I was a kid, and my aunt was running late to pick me up from school because she had a final exam to get to.
I was left alone sitting on the front stoop of my school for over two hours waiting for her. At that point, over 2ft of record-making snow had fallen down, leaving me completly covered and drenched.
I've never been a fan of snow since then.

"It's a long story." Percy explains to Ej, who still looks confused.

"Well suck it up Carry, it's going to happen!" He grins, as the first few flakes begin to fall down upon us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After my last class, I come out of the building stuffing my folder into my bag, to discover fat snowflakes are dispensing all around. Luckily I brought a hat with me to keep my hair somewhat dry.

The hell hounds were definitely enjoying the falling snow. I guess it's because this weather is alien to them....They've never seen snow in the underworld.

"Hey Carys!" Annabeth greets coming up to me.
"Percy and I have been looking through known friends of Stheno, there's a couple of people she's in league with.....All who formerly wanted to help raise Kronos." She sighs, watching as the hell hound leaped up to grab a falling snowflake.

"Well great! We're no closer to finding the stupid bow then we were when we first got here." I mutter angrily.
Annabeth frowns. "You okay?"

"Yeah.....Just.....Guy trouble." I mutter.

She looks surprised. I guess I know why she would be. I never have been one to have love problems. That's how alien me and dating are.

"Does it have something to do with that Cyclops guy?" She questions, her gray eyes narrowing.

This is why she's wise...Girl rarely misses a thing.
I nod.
"I.......Liked him......He.....Didn't like me back." I mutter quietly.

Although I'm completely leaving out that Asclepious isn't actually a cyclops, it's close enough to the gist of the matter.
Annabeth's eyes widen in surprise. "Wow.....I didn't.......wow."

I wince slightly, remembering her old hatred of cyclops in general. They were the monsters that chased her and her friends to camp halfblood, and the reason poor Thaila had been turned into a pine tree for so long.
It took her a great while just to even like Tyson.
I wonder if it's only him she'll tolerate in the cyclops department now..

"I'm sorry, I know you don't like them." I say weakly, feeling bad.

She shakes her head. "No! I mean......Okay yeah, it would be weird if you dated him, but I'd be...Okay with it..."
I look up at her and she's biting her bottom lip.
"He saved you and Nico that day. Anyone who saves my friends I'm okay with." She smiles lightly.
 I nod. Even though it's great knowing I'd have her blessing, it doesn't matter. Asclepious doesn't like me romantically.

"OH! Completly forgot......Iris messaged Thaila yesterday, explained the situation with the bow. She reccomends going to Halfblood and see if Rachel has a prophecy for you."


I shudder. Needless to say, I think all of us have had our share of prophecies to last a lifetime.

"My sentiments exactly." Annabeth snickers. "But Thalia has a point....Maybe that'll get this quest figured out faster."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Annabeth and I agreed that during Christmas break we would make a trip to Camp Halfblood to see Rachel.
As I make my way across campus, I notice the ocean has a beautiful glazed look to it.
I make my way over to the stone bridge, and notice the snow is falling beautifully around the bridge and onto the water.
I've never seen snow make something look so beautiful, so peaceful.

"You're a hard person to find." A familiar sultry-sweet voice calls over to me.
Triton.
The way he's playing with a wave of water, it almost looked as though he was trying to test if it was solid...

"I'll have to wait til the temperature drops a little lower for it to freeze." He shrugs, noticing my gaze.

"I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?" I ask politely.

Ever since I had pretty much blew him off at that party, Triton was a little more distant then he originally had been. He'll wave across the court yard or if he sees me in general, but hasn't tried talking to me since then.

"I've been alright. Little disappointed though in the love department." He half shrugs.
"Think I could use a child of Cupids advice on the matter..." He grins.

I laugh. "How can I help?"

He bites his inner cheek, considering something.
"I met this amazing, ravishing woman, but she doesn't seem to have taken a liking to me." He says, looking disappointed.

The hell hound that has been following me runs jumps into the water making an enourmous splash, and then immediately jumps out after deeming it too cold.
Triton and I laugh at the poor dogs shocked expression.
His statement surprises me. The guy is charming, attentive, and super hot. How the heck is he having lady problems?

"A girl's not attracted to you?" I question, wondering who could possibly not like him romantically.
Had I not met Asclepious, I suppose I would've spent my time at the university fawning over him like practically every other girl I see look at him.

His eyebrows raise. "Doesn't seem like it....The few times I've tried getting her attention, she seems to be completely oblivious to my charms." He grins.

"I take it you don't have that problem too often." I smirk, bending down to roll up a snowball.
As soon as the hell hound notices the ball-like object in my hands, he starts prancing around excitedly wanting me to throw it.

I launch at, and he goes running for it, leaping up to catch it. As soon as the icy vall hits his tongue, he shakes his head, disgusted.
"He's actually pretty well behaved." Triton muses, having moved closer to me.

"He is. I'm actually going to be a little sad when he has to go back to the Underworld." I nod.

"You are?"

"Yep. I guess because I've never had a pet before....But it'll probably be a good thing when Hades takes him back....Some people seem to be a little too afraid to come up to me since he follows me." I chuckle.

Triton grins, stepping closer. "I'll take that chance." He winks.
"About that girl.....How would you approach her?"

"Just be honest, I guess. Tell her you like her."

"Well, what if she's already smitten with another?" He frowns.

I shrug. "Ask her if she's seeing someone, if she isn't, then make your move. You never know unless you try, right?"
I'm always the romantic optimist. I firmly believe if you never try, you'll never know. Best to take the romantic risks and get rejected, then to never say anything and wonder back on what might have been if you had done something differently.

Triton's face turns serious, he nods at my statement.
"Well then, I suppose I better try." He grins, stepping closer yet again.

"Are you with anyone, Carys?" He asks in a low, seductive voice, catching me off-guard.
Me? He's been talking about me!?
I realize the answer is no, I'm not seeing anyone.
Yes I've been crushing on Asclepious, but after that night of the near kiss, he's made it abundantly clear he doesn't like me more than as a friend...Maybe, not even as that.
Slowly, I shake my head.
"No." I squeak, suddenly nervous.

A smile pulls at Triton's red lips, as he takes a step closer.
"I....I liked someone.." I start, as Triton watches me. "But, he didn't like me back....That's why I had blown you off at the party." I wince slightly.
Maybe that didn't need to be shared, but I'd rather explain why I've been standoffish around him.

Triton's now barely a foot away from me, and shock is radiating from his face.
"Someone actually recieved your full attention, and they didn't return your feelings?" He mutters, looking stunned.
I feel a blush coming on, slowly, I nod.

He hovers above me, and proceeds to tuck a stray strand of fly-away hair behind my ear. Instead of moving his hand, it lingers next to my cheek. His hand is now cupping my face gently, running his slim fingers across my skin.
He lowers his head, and a scent that's a combination of ocean and an airy breeze overwhelms me.
His warm breath caresses my face, as he gently leans in, and moves closer. His sea-green eyes close, and he leans in to slowly close the distance between my lips and his own....

"AARGH!" An angry voice yells, and I jump a foot back in fear right as Triton's lips were about to touch my own. The sound of a sword clanging against the stone bridge takes me by complete surprise.

I look towards the bridge, and I see Asclepious standing on it, glaring at me angrily. He's dressed in body armor and wearing a helmet, looking like he just came from training.
He picks up his sword, and stalks off, loud greek profanities coming from his exiting figure.

A low chuckle sounds from behind me.
"Well, that was unexpected." Triton's sultry voice whispers in my ear, causing me to shiver.
Suddenly, I'm not so sure I want to be where I am right now. Seeing the look of anger and pain on Asclepious, I want to run after him.

"Hey Trite, you're wanted to send a message to the dolphin king. There's some issue between him and some belugas, apparently you're the only one who can speak bottle-nose dolphin." A mermaid jumps onto land.
She stares around at the snow, horrified.
"I THOUGHT it got too cold around here!" She cries, before diving back into the ocean.

Triton sighs, pressing his lips onto my cheek, and letting it linger there.
"I'll be back." He promises, pecking me again on my cheek, before quickly exiting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stand in shock a few minutes, wondering what the Styx to do now.
My hell hound runs towards me, looking somewhat concerned.
"Let's go find someone." I mutter, as he prances along beside me.

I find myself banging on Nico's dorm.
He opens the door, looking exhausted. "Wh...Ugh! Carys. DO you have ANY idea what time it is!?" Nico whines, his dark hair sticking up oddly in all directions.

"Nico! It's like 4pm!" I scowl with a roll of eyes.

"I knoooooooow! But how do you expect me to attend a all-night Aphrodite dorm party if I don't get proper sleep beforehand?"


I open my mouth and then promptly close it.
"Point made, Dead-Head." I mutter, slapping my forehead.

Nico smirks.
"Damn straight. What's up?"

I proceed to explain about the near kiss with Triton, and then Asclepious noticing.

"I knew you liked the cyclops.." He mutters, shaking his head.
"But Percy's big brother, too? You're getting around." He jokes, throwing a wink.

"Ugh....Shutup. He took me by surprise, and now I don't know what to do."

I tap my head against the door frame of the building.
The hell hound whines outside the door.

Nico sighs. "Well let's continue this while walking to the mess hall. Dogs are hungry."
Gotta love the attitude this boy brings. He walks barefoot across campus with me, wearing plain pajama bottoms and a dark gray shirt. The cold doesn't even bother him.

"Ok....So the cyclops DIDN'T want to kiss you, but barnacle-bottom wants to....Do I have this right?"

I scowl. "Really, we have to give him a nickname too!?"

Nico shrugs. "Well it's either barnacle bottom or the Mermaid. Take your pick."

"I'll take Barnacle bottom, then...."

"I thought you would." He grins.

As we sit around tossing brisket and other meat-like objects to the mutts, Nico sighs.
"Go with who makes you happy, I guess."

I consider this.
"I guess..."

Nico smirks. "You don't who'll make you happy, do you?"

I automatically know this isn't the case. I light up around one of the guys, where I automatically feel at ease and that I can be myself.
And it isn't the same guy I nearly kissed this afternoon...

"I do....He doesn't like me though." I mutter gloomily.

Nico launches a turkey leg high into the air, and we watch as the hell hound leaps happily to gnaw at it.
"Then it's his loss. But I would think carefully about blowing off someone who's interested in you considering the person you like's not interested." He replies, taking a bite out of another Turkey leg on the plate.

Suddenly, the hell hound starts growling menacingly. Staring off at the edge of the forest. The three other hounds react the same way.
A group of small children that are being babysat by a daughter of Demeter starts looking frightened at the dogs.

"What are they upset about?" I ask Nico, to notice he's pulled out a sword and is at the ready.
"Something's here." He says, nodding to the point of the forest where the dogs are barking.
A loud menacing snarl ensues, that makes Nico's face pale.

I know why. It's beacuse the snarl DIDN'T come from one of the hell hounds...
Peope start running for cover, while some of the guys run towards the weapons. A large son of Ares is shouting for backup.
Out of the forest comes five LARGE dog-like creatures. I say dog like, because they have dog bodies, but LIZARD heads.
One of the snarling beasts runs and jumps on a hellhound, brutally biting into the poor dog. The Lizard head taking a chunk of flesh from the hell hound with its razor-sharp fangs in the process.
I shudder. Hell hounds are HUGE beasts, but these lizard-dogs were making them look like friggen labradoodles!

One of the small children that was eating a meal with the babysitting Demeter daughter starts to cry. The little girl bolts up, and sprints away from the woman's clutches in a mad dash to get to safety. The little girl looks to be 3 or 4, too young to realize that in the direction she's running, one of the lizard creatures has spotted her.
"NICO!" I shout, pointing at the terrified toddler trying to scurry to safety since he's much closer to her.
I ready my bow, knowing I'll have to make every shot count.

"Dammit." Nico murmurs, taking off at a shockingly fast pace to get to the girl at the EXACT same moment a lizard creature decided he wants the little girl, too.
Luckily some Ares and Athena children have arrived and seem to be trying to assist the hell hounds in defeating the other lizard creatures, but Nico is still in a sprint of his life against a creature that has two more legs than he does.
He grabs the little girl and tries running back at the same time before the lizard creature has sprung on him. Nico and the little girl drop, with the lizard having Nico's leg clenched in it's mouth.


"NO!" I scream, firing an arrow right into the lizards mouth.
This distracts it for a few moments allowing Nico to limp away.
I sprint towards him and the girl, before noticing the lizard has recovered and is making his way back to get a better bite.
"GET AWAY!"
I hold out my hand, and someting disturbing happens when I do. A strange dark shadow erupts from the palm of my hand, that seems to put up an invisible barrior that holds the creature away from Nico and the little girl. The blonde haired cutie whimpers, pointing at the lizard, while Nico hits the ground with his fists for it to open up, and up pops a skeleton.
"TELL HADES NICO NEEDS HIM!!"
He howls at the bones, as the skeleton nods and disappears back into the earth.