Sierra trudged through the forest. The sun was beginning to set, but you would've never known. The thick canopy and the trees the size of houses blocked practically all light. This was the section of the forest not even the most daring Ares campers set foot in. The campers had nicknamed it Black Wood. She held a dagger in her hand. It was simple, all black and the handle and blade seemed to be one piece. You wouldn't think much of it until you saw the faint purple glow radiating off of it. The horn for Capture the Flag blew. They had ten minutes until the game started. Team Ares and Team Athena had set up a camp on the opposite ends of the forest, but both teams veered far away from Black Wood. The Hecate Cabin had sided with Athena because of their ability to manipulate the Mist. All part of the wise children's strategy. Sierra wasn't accepted there. They all watched her as if she would stab them in the back if they gave her the chance. She hated it. She didn't regret her choice by joining Kronos in the war. She wasn't proud of it either. Before she got too lost in her thoughts, a slight rustle above her caught her attention.
Sierra chucked the dagger towards the nearest limb on the tree to her right. She glared at where the dagger had stuck in the tree, a face barely visible in the faint purple glow.
"Nikoli," She stated. "You should know better than being in Black Wood."
Raphael hid in the branches of a bush, clutching his dagger so tightly that his knuckles were going white. They had tasked him with patrolling the Black Woods for injured teammates. He was most concerned with keeping his cover at the moment, and he found himself shrinking down even more when he heard voices. A fight would have been unwelcome at best. He would rather just let the enemy be on their way, truth be told. That wasn't his job to stop them.
Though focused on hiding, he listened in to the conversation, just to see if the people involved were saying anything of interest.
"I basically live out here, Sierra, I literally sleep out here most days. If anyone should know not to be in here, it's you. However, I won't complain if you want to keep me company." Nikoli hummed, setting their bag on the sturdy branch where they were sitting before jumping down, landing in front of Sierra. They ended their jump with a dramatic bow, their favorite axe landing in their hand a second after they hit the ground.
Sierra rolled her eyes, internally wishing for her dagger to disappear. The knife in the tree fell out of the bark and shattered like glass when it hit the forest floor. The pieces of magical material flew in all directions but passed harmlessly through Nikoli's legs. "Capture the flag's starting soon," She muttered, turning away from Nikoli and walking deeper into Black Wood. "I'm sure the Ares Cabin needs you." Sierra kicked a stone away. "The Athena Cabin sure doesn't need me," She muttered under her breath.
Nikoli followed Sierra, humming as they walked behind her. "Nah, Chiron has just short of banned me from participating in camp activities. Plus, the Ares kids don't like me, I bit one the other day." They swung their arms as they spoke, reaching a hand into a shadow and grabbing their bag.
Surprisingly, for once, no one asked for Mel’s alliance. He was relieved. Now he could just wander through the forest and ignore the game. …..Or perhaps…. His cobalt blue eyes gleamed with mischief. He’d destroy this game altogether…. Even Chiron usually refused to punish him due to his abilities, so this was perfect…. he went into the woods after the rest, simply walking towards where he believed the first flag was hiding.
Raphael emerged from the foliage when he was more certain it was safe, and that the people outside were probably not interested in hunting him down.
He stood out in what would've been plain sight for Sierra and Nikoli, but he was debating on actually saying anything- specifically asking for protection while he just did his job.
Elke had offered her help to the the team she had been chosen by, but of course no one wanted her help, so she decided that as usual she would just do her own thing. She didn't really want to play the game to begin with, but for some reason she had been chosen and placed on a team. But she wasn't about to play or help, not that she was a bad team player or anything, but this part of the game wasn't something she did. But still, she headed into the Black Forest. Although it was known for being dangerous or something like that, she still enjoyed going there for solace and safety from the other campers. She started walking to her normal hiding spot, but stopped in her tracks when she heard voices.
Sierra looked at Nikoli. Their shadow abilities were strange, but she had seen stranger. The horn blew once again, signaling the start if the game. She got an idea. "Nikoli," she faced them. Even though they hardly talked, Sierra considered Nikoli her best friend. The daughter of Hecate had gotten either the best or worst idea in Camp Half-Blood history. Sure, it was crazy dangerous but if done correctly, no one would speak ill of her again. "Let's steal both flags."
Nikoli paused for a moment then rubbed their hands together diabolically, a glint forming in their eyes. Those who knew them well enough/ were on the other side of their wrath knew this look as something dangerous and entirely too chaotic. "Yes!" They hissed, voice almost vibrating with excitement. "We should get some other people in on this… Mel? Elke? They're both pretty rad."
(Agh I gotta do school and stuff. I'll be back around 6PM mountain time)
(Oof, I'll be asleep by then :))
(I should be active all day tomorrow, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Mondays and Tuesdays are the only days I have school)
Mel paused when he heard a few voices conspiring and eavesdropped for clues to the flag when he heard it was Nikoli and Sierra. He stepped out of the shadows. “I was actually already on my way to do that. I’d be glad for a team.” He grinned, leaning against a tree and flipping his hair out of his face with his fingers.
Nikoli launched themself at Mel, wrapping him up in a bear hug. "Mel Mel!!" They laughed giddily. "We're gonna fuck them up!!" Nikoli and Mel had talked like what, ten times since they had gotten to camp? Definitely not enough times to warrant the flying hug or the nickname, but then again, this was Nikoli, they were a wild card.
Elke head popped out from around a corner, a mischievous grin on her face. She had followed the voices to where the people were, and was definitely in. "Hhm, this would be a lot of fun, andddddddd" She said, her grin growing more and more, "The odds seem to be in our favor." She said with a chuckle, mirth playing in her eyes, "I do think that things would work out rather well." She said quietly, falling silent.
Mel startled when he got the hug, but happily hugged back, because he was too touch starved at the moment to judge. “Yes, yes we are. We’re gonna wreck their idea of what we are.”
"Elke! Yes! We're gonna screw them over and it'll be wonderful!" Nikoli released Mel and yeeted themselves at Elke to hug her as well. Once again, nothing warranted the giant hug, but once again, Nikoli was a wildcard.
Elke yelped, not expecting the hug from him. "A-alright." She said softly, patting the Nik's back, she wasn't too much of a hugger to begin with, and even though she was sort of used to his hugs, Elke was still a bit awkward when it came to his hugs.
Sierra watched the sudden exchange of hugs with wide eyes. She felt a pang of jealousy as they laughed and embraced each other, she felt alone. Sierra quickly shook away the feelings and began to brew a plan. "I don't think I can get close to the Ares Camp. They're heavier on offense than defense, but they're expecting Hecate campers to manipulate the Mist so they have Mist-detecting devices that Hephaestus Cabin made them. Nikoli, you and Mel get in close to take the flag. I'll be with Elke going to Athena camp. They wont be expecting a Mist diversion and I'm better at hand-to-hand combat than most of them. Elke, I'll need you as backup. And Nikoli," she sighed. "Don't kill anyone."
"Any objections?" Sierra asked, her voice firm.
Nikoli giggled and pulled another axe from the shadows and threw it up in the air, catching the handle a second later. "I won't do anything a little ambrosia can't fix." They clicked their tongue. "Anyone relying on stealth, I can probably cloak you in a light shadow, it won't be the best, but it should hold up for a bit." After they spoke, they jumped up to hug Sierra really quickly before grabbing Mel's arm. "Ready to shadow walk?"
Elke shrugged, not having anything against the plan. It seemed to be a good idea, and it seemed to be a possibility, "It will work, but I can't guarantee our safety, I'm not sure who, but someone might get hurt." She said with a shrug, "But I think that it would be fun to do, but the other campers will probably be furious. But it'd be funny."
"Wait!" Raphael called, from where he'd been listening in the whole time, "I could tag along too, if that's alright. No use in a fight, but I can help if things get messy."
He chuckled to himself.
"They thought it'd be funny to send me to do the dirty work in these woods, but I'd rather not play along."
Sierra glanced at Raphael. "Go with Nikoli and Mel, Raphael. I have a feeling that you'll need to help some of the people that get in Nikoli's way." She turned to Elke. "Come on," She muttered, grabbing her hand. "I have a feeling we'll need a lot of time." She dragged Elke towards the Athena end of the camp. She snapped, and the air immediately became colder. The sound echoed in the forest, bouncing off of trees and rocks. Sierra looked at her arms. They appeared to be dark green and leafy, the perfect disguise. Sierra made sure Elke was behind her and walked into the Athena base.
Sierra cursed as she looked at who was defending the flag. None other than Nico di Angelo himself.
Nikoli smiled and waved before lurching over to grab Raphael's elbow. "Let's go! Now, you will feel very cold, a bit wet, and probably like there are lots and lots of things crawling all over your body. Welp, those are the side effect, hold your breath for the first few seconds!" And then, they pulled Mel and Raphael into the shadows and began to stalk through the forest, the glowing half moon in their eyes being the only source of light.
(Also quick question, what's the policy on swearing in this RP?)
(I fell like if Nikoli and Nico fought, it would just be a lot of fighting in the shadows. Like seriously, Nico's controlling of the dead vs Nikoli's controlling of the night, match made in hell.)
(Also quick question, what's the policy on swearing in this RP?)
(Go absolutely fucking wild)
(asdfajk okay lmao)
"Ah, okay, thanks for the warn-"
Raphael was cut off by Nikoli dragging him into the shadows. He held his breath, hard-hit by an odd feeling of apprehension at first. He found his hands tightening around Nikoli's arm as he looked for something to hold onto through the darkness. A sharp shudder passed through his body.
"You should be able to take a breath now, it'll feel kinda like heavy air, but it's fine to breathe in." Nikoli whispered, smiling wide. The faint light of their eyes glinted off their teeth for a moment, making them look very sharp. "Time passes slower in the shadows, so when we pop out into the light it'll be like only a minute had passed."
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