ariel

audhd • they/them | agender • 23yo • I write :) ko-fi.com/charminhearts

[charminhearts]

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I like to write about my obsessions, and currently it's Polytrix.

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[charminhearts]

Their quest.

The first few days since they left on their quest together were tense, to say the least.

Mira realized early in their journey that everything that had happened still hurt her deeply. With each step they took, more painful memories of what had happened on her first quest resurfaced. And everything only got worse after the first attack.

They were all older demigods now. All with the strongest scent. All three of them with the blessings of their godly parents, all three of them attracting the attention of monsters, and only two of them could actually fight while Mira held her celestial bronze spear, trembling in place, unable to move.

Rumi prevented anything from happening. Rumi injured herself protecting them from attacks that were too fast, and this made Mira feel like a deadweight on that quest. She couldn’t fight against small two-eyed pests, and the mere thought of encountering a cyclops on that journey made her tremble.

She had a panic attack before they could even continue their journey, and while Zoey didn’t know what to do, she just watched Rumi crouch down and stay close to Mira, gently helping her regulate her breathing. It seemed like a different Rumi, even. The only Rumi Zoey knew didn’t seem capable of such kindness, yet there she was, caring for Mira after a panic attack, completely indifferent to her own injuries.

Zoey had heard stories about who Rumi used to be, a Rumi who was indeed kind and cheerful, and now Zoey realized she was getting to know Rumi’s true self.

Zoey didn’t know if she should offer to help with the injuries scattered across Rumi’s body—a few scratches here and there, but she stopped herself from approaching when she saw her apply some antiseptic to the wounds and pretend it didn’t hurt when she resumed their walk, this time following behind them, like a bodyguard.

Zoey preferred to offer help to someone she knew would accept it, which led her to remain embraced with Mira for much of the way until they reached a high hill where they set up camp. Before Zoey could even offer to stand guard, Rumi told them to rest while she began to patrol the area.

Mira spent much of the night restless, risking shy glances in Rumi’s direction. She wanted to thank her for the help, she wanted to apologize for not being able to fight, she wanted to tell her to sleep while Mira stood guard, but she couldn’t do anything but blush when Zoey told her that the two of them needed to talk about things a little beyond what had happened earlier.

The following days, as they followed Zoey’s coordinates to where the prophecy had directed her, were as tense as that first day. Rumi fought like a demon whenever she heard or sensed the presence of monsters, annihilating them with such ease that Zoey and Mira could only watch, gaping, as they tried to move to help, only to see Rumi decapitate monsters as if she were reaping wheat and then casually walk away as if nothing had happened.

That pattern continued for a long time after they hitched a ride on a cargo truck westward, and the silence between them wasn’t so uncomfortable now that they were used to Rumi’s short and quick answers. Zoey didn’t even try to talk to Rumi, to tell the truth. Every night she would stand guard until sunrise, and then she would rest for an hour or two while Zoey and Mira had breakfast. They were worried, but every time Mira tried to offer to switch shifts with Rumi...

“Not today.”

“I won’t sleep anyway.”

“No. Tomorrow, maybe.”

“You better rest.”

Zoey had already given up trying to talk to her by then; most of the time Rumi avoided the effort of having to speak. Mira still asked Rumi to wake her up in the middle of the night so they could switch shifts, but Rumi continued to watch over them all the time without worrying about her own sleep at all.

That unhealthy dynamic had been working for a while.

Until one night, when they were looking for a good place to spend the night, they ended up in an abandoned warehouse. They set up camp on the highest part of the place, on top of stacked containers. They were almost asleep when Rumi heard footsteps and asked them to be quiet, then crept closer to the bridge to see who might be down there when she saw two cyclopes with demigods trapped inside a huge cauldron.

Rumi couldn’t tell Mira what was waiting for them down there, but just her look was enough for Mira to be sure that her nightmare was about to return to haunt her. Rumi and Zoey started whispering plans, but while Zoey insisted they should try to help the imprisoned demigods, Rumi countered that they should run while they were distracted—for Mira’s sake, she wanted to add, but she didn’t have the courage to say it aloud.

Of course, their whispers caught the attention of those Rumi wanted to avoid.

And although Rumi managed to take down one of the cyclopes, the other ended up chasing Zoey and Mira. Rumi warned them to run, but Zoey was moving awkwardly, her steps clumsy, having difficulty descending. Rumi had always noticed that she was too slow to move, but she figured that in a moment like that she would realize the urgency to escape as quickly as possible.

Panic left Rumi paralyzed in place for a few seconds before she reacted and yelled for them. Warning them. Telling them to be careful, to run faster. She tried to draw the cyclops’ attention to herself, but he took advantage of a moment when Mira stopped to help Zoey down and grabbed her in his palm.

Rumi roared with rage and yelled for him to let Mira go, wielding her sword with such fury as a red aura enveloped her body, and although that cyclops fell before Rumi’s wrath, although Mira was alive, breathing, trembling, with her heart pounding… Rumi still turned to Zoey with eyes full of anger and asked her what was her problem.

When they needed to flee, Zoey messed around, moving lazily as if there wasn’t a cyclops chasing them. When they needed to escape, Zoey made Mira the target of a cyclops, and although Zoey cowered at first, although she felt insecure and wanted to leave, she just clenched her jaw and threw her prosthetic leg at Rumi’s head.

Which, well, technically helped explain why she hadn’t reacted in time to escape the cyclopes. And it also made Rumi shut up and look a little embarrassed by her outburst of anger.

But what really made the two stop sniping at each other was the sound of a sob.

Mira was still trying to recover as she knelt on the floor, trembling so much, crying so much. Rumi and Zoey exchanged glances before Rumi helped Zoey adjust the prosthetic leg back into place and then carried Mira bridal-style out of there.

Zoey helped the demigods who were inside the cyclops' cauldron before reaching Rumi and Mira, who were a short distance from the warehouse. Rumi was now walking at a slow pace so that Zoey could keep up with her without straining herself too much.

That night, neither of them slept.

Rumi stood guard in the middle of the forest while Zoey held a trembling Mira in her lap, and the two of them just clung to each other, thinking about all the “what ifs” that haunted them after what had happened. They couldn't help but think that they had almost lost each other.

And Rumi watched them from afar, with the same thoughts running through her mind.

━━━━━━━━━━

If Rumi had found it difficult to sleep before, since that night she almost lost Mira she hadn’t slept at all. She barely rested, and for three days pure panic, fear, and despair had kept her awake.

Mira and Zoey tried to sleep despite the nightmares, now so close to each other that the warmth emanating from Zoey kept Mira warm all night. Night after night, Zoey noticed Mira awake watching Rumi before sleep overtook her, and Zoey always told her to talk to her. But Mira slept without being able to do so.

Despite things between Zoey and Rumi being even more awkward since the episode with the cyclopes, Zoey couldn’t help but worry. Especially when she looked at those open wounds on her body.

One morning, while Mira was preparing sandwiches for them, Zoey simply pulled Rumi’s injured arm close without asking questions and began tending to the wounds while Rumi tried to pull her arm back, telling her she was fine—but all it took was for Zoey to press on an abscess in the infected wound for Rumi to bite her own tongue and hold back a groan.

Mira managed to smile seeing them not bickering for so long while Zoey tended to Rumi’s wounds and bandaged them afterward.

Usually, Rumi would just stand guard while Mira and Zoey ate. She preferred to eat while they followed the trail marked by Zoey, walking behind them so she could pray unnoticed, but that morning Zoey simply pushed the sandwich and water toward Rumi without asking if she wanted it or not, telling her to eat.

Rumi could have argued with her and said she wouldn’t do what she wanted.

But she simply took two pieces of the small sandwich and threw them into their small campfire, beginning to pray immediately afterward. She knew she would find Mira and Zoey staring at her closely as soon as she opened her eyes, but she didn’t care, choosing instead to eat what was left of her sandwich while worrying about their journey becoming too long for that small amount of food.

She was beginning to get annoyed with Ares for losing his spear on the other side of the world when she heard noises in the surrounding woods and managed to grab her sword just in time to defend herself against an attack by Laistrygonian Giants.

She cursed loudly and chattered her teeth, blaming herself for letting her guard down to the point where they got so close. She drew a second sword from its sheath and yelled for Zoey and Mira to gather as much belongings as they could and run while she held them off.

Mira froze when she heard the command and gave Zoey an apprehensive look, waiting to see what she would do, ready to fight alongside her to help Rumi this time.

And Mira appeared with her spear just in time to send one of the giants back to Tartarus before it could injure Rumi with a huge rock.

They had a good advantage until more monsters appeared. Their scent, along with the mess made by the Laistrygonian Giants, had attracted others. Zoey cursed under her breath before grabbing her backpack and pulling Rumi and Mira down the ravine.

They tumbled down the slope, scraping themselves with each impact against branches and rocks, but hey! Now they were far enough away from the monsters to think about where to go next.

That was when Mira said she knew where they were and where they should go if they wanted to hide from the monsters.

Zoey and Rumi almost wondered whether they should follow Mira’s plan or devise one involving monster annihilation when a fireball flew past their heads and struck the nearest tree.

Rumi ended up carrying Zoey on her back as she followed Mira through the woods, and Zoey occasionally would defend them from monsters that were too close with her bow, or throwing daggers straight into the eyes of other creatures that approached Mira further ahead. She would probably run out of ammunition very soon if they didn’t find shelter in time.

Mira turned a corner that led them straight to several vines in front of what appeared to be a huge rock, but Rumi didn’t stop running when she saw Mira enter a cave right there. Zoey took advantage of the passage to pull vines and make rocks above fall, which probably wouldn’t stop monsters from following them, but would certainly delay them considerably.

Zoey squeezed Rumi’s shoulders and cowered as they passed through the lower parts of the cave. They were about to ask Mira where they were and how she knew the place so well when they saw her running straight towards a path that led them to a giant mansion right in the center of what must have been the property of the richest person in the world.

They had to follow Mira despite their apprehension. The run to that mansion would have been long if they hadn’t been trained for quests like that, and soon Mira was passing security guards shouting, “If anyone asks if my friends and I passed through here, say we ran west! Please!”

The security guard simply accepted the order with a smile on his face, and Mira was soon waving to the guards at the door and asking them to let her in, with the most beautiful nervous smile ever on display.

Rumi and Zoey exchanged somewhat alarmed glances at seeing Mira use her charm for trespassing, but they didn’t ask many questions since it meant they would be safe inside an extremely secure place.

What really shocked them was that as soon as they entered the mansion, Mira moved through the hallways perfectly well, as if she already knew the place. To confuse them even more, one of the security guards was soon informing Miss Kang that her brother would be joining her soon.

Rumi dropped Zoey onto the nearest sofa and threw herself onto the rug right after, panting as she stared at Mira with doubt glistening in her eyes.

“This house is yours?” Rumi asked, stunned.

“Mansion, you mean,” Zoey added, her admiring eyes wandering around a living room the size of her old house.

Mira’s brother seemed infinitely more confused than Rumi and Zoey. He entered the room so distraught that he froze in place the moment he saw Mira before hugging her and starting to cry.

The half-bloods knew that Mira had been at the camp for years. She had never left since she arrived. She had always told everyone that she had no family or a place to return to… and now they had discovered that Mira used to live in mansions like that one with a brother who liked her.

But they discovered shortly afterward that Mira had been kicked out of her house by a father who no longer existed. Both he and his wife had already passed away, and now Mira’s brother was trying to keep the family business afloat.

Learning that that immense mansion in the middle of nowhere was just their vacation home made Zoey’s jaw drop.

The upside of Mira being super rich and lying to them? They ate real food and got even more for the rest of the trip, and the smell of the various humans in that mansion masked the scent of the demigods there.

After a good shower, Zoey changed Rumi’s bandages and forced her to lie down to try and rest, once again giving orders without even asking if she wanted to, and this time Rumi was so exhausted that she fainted on Mira’s bed.

Zoey took a shower right after making sure all of Rumi and Mira’s wounds were clean and bandaged.

Zoey put on clean clothes and went to organize her backpack and weapons to check how many arrows she had left, but she needed to go to the nearest window and smile at the starry sky while asking her father to leave her some arrows before his shift guiding the sun across the sky began.

The three of them managed to truly sleep that night, at least until Rumi woke them up with painful screams.

Zoey imagined that must be the reason she avoided sleeping, she just didn’t imagine it would hurt so much to see her having a panic attack while actually trying to wake up from the nightmare.

Zoey and Mira had slept on the fluffy rug on the floor and let Rumi occupy the big bed, but while trying to calm Rumi in the middle of the night they ended up falling asleep together there.

And they woke up without Rumi between them, although they could still smell her scent impregnated in the sheets. Antiseptic, blood, and dried beef. Yeah. Rumi had totally been sleeping between them just moments before. The bed was still warm.

As warm as Mira and Zoey’s cheeks when they realized what had happened after they took care of Rumi.

Mira’s brother prepared breakfast for them, packed food for their trip, and offered a chauffeur to take them to their final destination.

It was a surprise for Rumi to find a human so willing to help demigods, but the way he hugged Mira and asked her to come back and visit him, saying he was sorry for what had happened years ago, saying he missed her… it seemed genuine.

Mira refused the chauffeur’s offer, but accepted a borrowed car—making it clear she probably wouldn’t be able to return it in one piece, and her brother just hugged her again and said he didn’t mind the car if she came back to visit him.

Rumi and Mira exchanged glances in the mansion’s garage when they saw six luxury cars parked side by side. If there was one thing their demigod training hadn’t taught them, it was driving.

But Zoey was already twirling a key on her index finger, grinning from ear to ear, as she climbed into a convertible to play with the top and test the engine, saying she was paying to see some monster catch up to them once she stepped on the gas.

━━━━━━━━━━

Zoey watched the convertible sink downstream, tears streaming down her face, whimpering at the loss of her beautiful car.

Mira patted her back, comforting her and saying that at least they had survived the attack.

Then they turned their gaze to Rumi as soon as they heard her grunt in pain, a hand firm on a wound that was bleeding onto her shirt.

Zoey wondered if she had some kind of magnet for disasters as she stitched up Rumi’s hip. Mira gave Rumi sips of nectar and nibbles of ambrosia now and then, trembling since seeing the amount of blood.

She lectured Rumi too, for always getting into the worst scrapes trying to fight alone to protect her, for always trying to protect her.

Like she had done on Mira’s first quest.

And Rumi apologized in a whisper before collapsing from exhaustion.

Mira also had some injuries that Zoey needed to clean and bandage, and soon after, Mira’s gentle hands helped Zoey with the scratches on her cheek and arms.

She didn’t know how they would get food, but that was a problem for them the next day. At that moment, Zoey was just cleaning their weapons while humming and keeping watch so Rumi and Mira could somehow rest their heads.

Zoey began to hum as she checked the few provisions that were left after the attack that caught them all off guard. Their car had been thrown off the top of the bridge straight into the river meters below, and they had to abandon the car mid-air to avoid breaking their bones in the fall. They couldn’t get anything from the car, but at least Zoey’s fanny pack—where she kept some first-aid items, ambrosia, nectar, and gold drachmas—was intact.

When Zoey stopped singing, distractedly gazing at the stars, Rumi woke up and stared at her in doubt, wondering why she had stopped singing, and she blushed when she realized she had said that out loud.

“Are you going soft on me, Rumi?” Zoey teased.

Rumi gritted her teeth and looked away at the sky, trying to close her eyes and go back to sleep, but now that she was awake she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep so easily.

“Say please and I’ll sing again.” Zoey teased, her eyebrows wiggling provocatively.

And Rumi just narrowed her eyes and said the same as always. “I don’t beg.”

“Does Miss “I don’t beg” don’t even know how to ask for a song? It won’t hurt, you know?”

Rumi didn’t ask for the song.

Zoey sang anyway.

And Mira smiled as she pretended to continue sleeping, unable to ignore how sweet it had been to hear Rumi so shy that she hadn’t responded to Zoey with any rudeness.

Mira knew what was happening to her heart during that quest.

And even though years ago she had promised herself that she would never again give in to feelings like that…

She realized there was no going back now.

━━━━━━━━━━

That quest was already starting to piss them off. They had walked so far to get closer to the place where Ares had lost his damned spear, and now that they were close enough, somehow everything was making Rumi even more angry.

Rumi could already imagine that bastard entering that abandoned theme park with Aphrodite for a date and dropping his spear anywhere.

She just couldn’t imagine why Ares hadn’t returned to retrieve the spear on his own.

But as soon as she took two steps closer to his spear, the park floor began to tremble, and what should have been rides were now transforming into giant robots that would make their quest to recover the damned spear even more difficult.

Rumi wasn’t in her best when the first attack happened, but she realized she no longer needed to defend Mira or Zoey. Mira held her spear firmly in her hands, fighting the robots fiercely, and Zoey had her daggers, advancing against Hephaestus’s toys alongside Mira. The three had learned to fight together, in a synchronicity that would have been perfect if they weren’t so exhausted. The journey to that theme park was more exhausting than the battle itself.

They were wounded. All of them. Rumi still felt pain in her hip, the stitches threatening to open with each movement, and a small distraction was enough for one of the robots to send her flying into a hot dog stand.

Mira and Zoey shouted her name, worried, and Mira told Zoey to go check if she was alright while she dealt with the last robots, but as soon as they separated they were surrounded by Hephaestus’s creations.

The fact that it was dark at night certainly didn’t help them get a better sense of the battlefield.

Mira didn’t even realize that while she was defending herself and fighting, she was being guided directly towards the roller coaster. The moment she got close to the seat, she was pushed inside, and Hephaestus’s invention came to life and began to shrink, trapping Mira inside. With each passing moment, the space inside decreased and heated up—perhaps a perfect trap to punish and torture the gods. But Mira was already screaming in pain as burns formed on the exposed skin of her arms and legs. She was curled up in a fetal position, avoiding movement to prevent further burns, calling for Zoey and Rumi, and unconsciously calling for her mother as well.

A prayer made in a moment of despair that seemed to reach no one.

Mira fainted while screaming in pain, unable to even perceive a metal hand carefully and forcefully tearing through that hot prison. Rumi fought against the heat and her own pain, forcing herself to reach Mira in time to prevent something irreversible, but by the time she pulled her out of there, she was already unconscious. Her hair and clothes were damaged. Arms and legs covered in first-degree burns, shoulders and feet covered in second-degree ones.

Rumi held her in her arms, feeling her heart pounding in her throat, completely desperate. The only thing on her mind was that she needed Zoey’s fanny pack, she needed ambrosia and nectar, she needed to help Mira.

But a glance in Zoey’s direction and all Rumi saw was her unconscious on the ground, so many open wounds that she was losing blood too quickly.

Of course, Rumi’s damned godly parent hadn’t returned to retrieve his spear because Hephaestus had taken advantage of the theme park to set traps that would catch Ares and Aphrodite in the act. 

The damned gods always playing with their lives as if demigods were disposable, to the point that they would risk themselves for something as stupid as that spear.

Rumi laid Mira and Zoey side by side on the floor, her trembling hand searching for her sword as she watched the robots approach, determined to destroy the last remaining beasts.

Rumi roared, running with the blade of her sword kicking up sand, destroying robots in her path until she reached Ares’s magic spear. The moment Rumi wielded the god’s weapon, Ares’ blessing fell upon her, driving her into a rage that led to the destruction of everything around her.

But now that she could tend to Zoey and Mira, now that she could give them ambrosia and nectar to help them heal, she opened Zoey’s fanny pack only to find nothing more than a few drachmas and some bandages.

They had used the remaining supplies to tend to Rumi’s wound after the battle on the bridge.

And now Rumi was falling to her knees on the floor as she watched Zoey and Mira losing vital signs and there was nothing she could do to save them.

She only needed ambrosia and nectar.

She would heal them if she had ambrosia and nectar.

But all she had at the moment was Ares’s stupid spear.

Rumi gritted her teeth and planted her own sword in the ground, raising Ares’s spear to the sky and shouting her godly parent’s name.

“Ares.”

“You better be listening to me now.”

“Come here.”

“Very presumptuous of you to think you can summon me with such arrogance, kid.”

Rumi glared at him scornfully as her father’s human form materialized near her, a hand raised towards her, looking at her with a smile that seemed proud.

“Thank you for retrieving my spear. I did well to bless you, after all.”

He asked for the weapon at the same time that Rumi narrowed her eyes and chattered her teeth, so much anger overflowing from within her that the god could feel her wrath.

She didn’t return Ares’ spear even after the third time the god asked for it.

Instead, Rumi bargained.

“Give me ambrosia and nectar and I’ll give you your spear.”

Ares raised an eyebrow at his daughter’s insolence, then lowered his gaze to the ground and saw the daughters of Aphrodite and Apollo practically dead there.

He even tried to approach her and take the spear himself, but stopped when he saw Rumi wielding his weapon with mastery, transforming it into a double-headed sword, threatening the god without hesitation.

“Give me ambrosia and nectar.”

“Let me save them.”

“Or I swear by the River Styx, Ares.”

“That I will use your spear to destroy all of Olympus.”

The god of war straightened his posture and studied the girl’s expression with a mixture of pride and anger. He had truly created a huge threat to his own existence, he was certain of it.

Thunder rumbled overhead to seal the promise the next instant, a warning that more gods were watching their conversation. Rain clouds were already forming high above the theme park.

Ares frowned at the sound of an eagle and, of course, didn’t want to hear any lecture from Zeus at that moment.

But he only snorted irritably at the second thunderclap. A clear warning: Control your daughter.

“Fine, kid.” Ares reached out to her again, choosing to calm things down, although a part of him wanted to see how far Rumi’s fury would go.

He exchanged the magic spear for ambrosia and enough nectar for the two demigods and disappeared from the place the next instant.

Rumi trembled as she held Zoey’s face delicately, lifting her head slightly so she could drink the nectar without choking. She moved with all the gentleness she could muster, trembling as she held Mira with all possible care to avoid hurting her further.

But it didn’t matter that Rumi had already offered them the maximum amount of ambrosia and nectar, Zoey and Mira were still unconscious and didn’t seem to react to the food of the gods.

It started to rain the instant Rumi realized they were still losing vital signs. The instant she realized she was losing them.

She didn’t know how to heal them.

She couldn’t heal them.

Rumi stared at the little ambrosia and nectar that remained, nothing more than a sip of nectar and a small piece of ambrosia. Rumi herself hadn’t even tasted the food of the gods, more concerned with helping them.

But even so, Zoey and Mira still had their eyes closed, their bodies so limp that when Rumi laid them on the ground their heads tilted to the side.

Losing pulse.

So wounded.

Rumi began to feel a lump forming in her throat.

And the first sob escaped her.

“Please.”

Rumi lowered her head, hands on the ground, completely kneeling, prostrating herself on the floor.

“Please.”

She trembled and sobbed, her heart aching.

“Hestia, please.”

“They are my home.”

“Please.”

Then,

“Hades, please.”

“If you’re going to take them away from me, I beg you to take me too.”

“Hestia, Hades, please.”

“I beg you, please.”

Rumi sobbed and screamed so loudly it seemed to match the sound of relentless thunder, her face already covered in sand as she knelt completely on the ground.

“Aphrodite, please!”

“I love them, please.”

“Aphrodite, listen to me, please.”

“Apollo, they need help. Please, Apollo.”

“Apollo, heal them. I can’t, Apollo. Please!”

Rumi clenched her hand into a fist, gathering sand in her palm, digging her nails into the ground so hard it hurt.

But nothing hurt more than seeing the ones she loved dying right before her eyes.

“I apologize.”

“Please.”

“Haven’t I suffered enough?” 

“I can’t bear to lose them too.”

“I fulfilled your wishes.”

“All my life I have served you.”

“So please.”

“Hear my plea and bring them back to me.”

━━━━━━━━━━

Rumi continued praying until she lost her voice, crying so much that the sound of her prayers reached the Olympus, and even without Zeus’s direct approval, Apollo descended from the sun chariot and went to them.

A lightning bolt hadn’t struck him on his way to them, so he assumed that that was a good sign. Perhaps Zeus realized that after testing Rumi for the past few years, he would finally need to stop before she became a real threat to his reign.

“You can rest now, Rumi,” he had said the moment he arrived where they were, but Ares’s daughter was already unconscious, even with her body so tense in that position.

Even though their vital signs were low, Apollo wasn’t worried about the other girls after tending to their wounds and realizing that the ambrosia and nectar were gradually helping them recover.

The three would be fine when they woke up. He just needed to get them to a safe place now.

Perhaps Apollo got a long lecture, and perhaps he had to help Zeus with his favorite cattle for weeks after what he had done, but he didn’t regret intervening and leaving Rumi, Zoey, and Mira under the care of a mortal he trusted.

━━━━━━━━━━

Rumi woke up in a bed with a scent she knew well, a bed so comfortable and that brought back such painful and lovely memories that all she did was cry.

And she cried even more when she left that room and walked through the house, trembling as she went to the other side of the hallway, where she found her old room exactly as it used to be.

Even the walls that had been destroyed that night were standing again.

And right there in the kitchen of her old home, Rumi found her helping herself to some cinnamon tea.

“Mama?”

Celine thought she could manage not to cry. 

Apollo had taken the girls to her house some days ago, had protected them for the past few days, and had told her that the girls would be unconscious for a long time after what happened.

Celine had taken care of them, had changed their bandages, had wiped away their sweat with wet wipes, had put plaster on small scratches, and had checked their stitches.

And even though she had already seen her sweet Rumi so many times in the last three days while Celine tended to her wounds, even though she had already cried so many times in the last few days…

She still broke down in tears when she heard the sweet sound of her voice.

Rumi ran to her when she noticed her mother struggling to move her wheelchair. Rumi hugged her so tightly yet so carefully, burying her face in the crook of her mother’s neck and crying a little more, sobbing in her arms, inhaling the scent of cinnamon and coffee emanating from her.

After all these years, Rumi discovered that her Mama had survived when the minotaur invaded their house.

After all these years, Rumi was in her mother’s arms once again.

And she didn’t care if she was showing vulnerability, didn’t care about putting her walls up and not letting herself be weak. She was just too tired of being strong. She just wanted to cry and hug her mother while apologizing for not being able to save Miyeong, but all Celine did was hug her, shushing her softly and showering her with tender kisses on the top of her head.

All that mattered to her was that now she had her daughter back.

Now she could see her daughter again. Now she could cup her cheeks and kiss her head. Now she could hug her and hear her voice.

How time had flown. 

Her sweet Rumi was all big and strong now.

━━━━━━━━━━

Zoey and Mira woke up at nightfall and found Rumi sitting right next to their bed, looking at them with such concern and tenderness that they almost asked what had happened and where they were, but the words that escaped Rumi’s lips left them paralyzed in place.

“You’re really here with me.”

“You’re okay now.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Zoey and Mira remembered that crying voice. They had heard Rumi’s pleas, they had distant memories of that painful moment, they remembered how they had tried to wake up and tell Rumi that they would be okay, but they couldn’t move back then.

Now that they had regained consciousness, they knew they would need to talk about everything later, but they preferred to just melt completely into each other’s arms at that moment.

━━━━━━━━━━

All that pain they had gone through continued to haunt them for a long time after Rumi, Mira, and Zoey left Camp Half-Blood. 

They had said goodbye to the campers when they returned to confirm that they had completed the quest, and during that night of celebration around the campfire they received laurel wreaths on their heads while half-bloods from Cabin 7 sang camp songs. 

The following morning, they packed their belongings and bid goodbye to their half-siblings, promising to return sometime during summers to help them with their training.

But now they needed some peace far from the madness of the gods.

They didn’t want children, none of them. Even years after starting that relationship, they had talked several times about their family and agreed that they wanted things to continue exactly as they were.

But life surprised them one night when they heard a meow on their balcony and found a one-eyed white cat outside, with dirty fur painted blue and some scratches, even limping.

Zoey took him in and said he was grumpy like Rumi, but after a few days they realized he was a sweetheart of a cat who had just been too scared before.

It was a long journey to heal the open wounds in their hearts, but they were managing to find happiness in the little things while they were together supporting each other.

They spent some holidays with Mira’s brother.

Christmas always with Celine.

They visited Zoey’s little brother at her grandparents’ house once or twice a year.

Rumi would slam the door in the gods' faces whenever one of them appeared seeking help.

But Zoey and Mira would only give her kisses on the cheek before going to answer the door with a bit more courtesy—despite clearly being annoyed by the visitors.

They grew old together living among mortals, taking care of little Derpy and taking care of each other. And although some nights they still had nightmares, they always woke up safe in each other’s arms in their big, comfortable bed…

In the home they’d built together.

[charminhearts]

okay, so i have nothing to ask, but i've been reading your kpdh pjo fic and the brainworms got me... so i made a little doodle of rumi based on your character concept and fic. i hope you like it:))

have a nice day:))

OMG????? I LOVE IT 🥺

thank you for the art! it's so beautiful!

[charminhearts]

her gfs are a mimir

[charminhearts]

I shared these on my twitter and I feel it's only fair that I share them here too lol

this is the first time I've drawn in about four years or so 🥹 I don't remember how to draw hands

[charminhearts]

For your Polytrix/PJO Au where does it fall on the PJO timeline?

I never actually stopped to think about it, I'm just writing my hcs lol

but before Percy was born for sure. The gods are still quite negligent towards their children.

[charminhearts]

About this: https://www.tumblr.com/charminhearts/819853389873676288/offerings-and-prayers?source=share

Do Zoey and Mira ever find out about who Rumi prays to? Perhaps while on a certain quest

heh 😋 You'll find out when I publish the last thread about this AU... probably on Sunday

[charminhearts]

Fatal Flaws

━━━━━━━━━━

Zoey

Zoey lives with the weight of her past—which torments her every day—, and a tremendous sense of inferiority as well. She hasn't truly lived for a long time—she's been surviving her days, dragging herself along, stopping herself from ending her own suffering to avoid hurting the only person she has left.

Apollo kept her alive, pushing away those self-deprecating thoughts that so disturbed Zoey's mind every day.

But her past remains a weight on Zoey's shoulders. Every time memories return vividly to her mind, Zoey wants to forget. She wishes she could forget it all. She wishes she wasn't a burden or a person who brings misfortune wherever she goes, but that seems to define her as a person.

She was guilty of everything that ever happened to her, after all. She brought every ounce of misery into her own life simply by existing. And every day she reviews the decisions she made and blames herself for acting that way.

She simply fails to understand and respect herself. Zoey has forgotten she was a child back then. And the guilt only seems to grow stronger each day inside her, corroding her from the inside out.

She feels so inferior that she doesn't realize what her mere presence is capable of doing.

Unconsciously, even with all that pain weighing on her, she hasn't stopped illuminating every place she goes. She doesn't know how she's able to encourage people to keep trying. She doesn’t know how much the way she keeps her warm aura emanating helps hearts that need it. She doesn’t know that she is a sun.

Maybe someday she could forgive that little girl who so desperately needs a hug—that little one who kept crying over the loss of her parents, who keeps blaming herself for the wounds on her grandparents' and little brother's bodies the night before she ran away.

All little Zoey needs is a hug.

And all Zoey needs is someone who will accept her even with all the pain and excessive worries of that restless mind.

All Zoey needs is a home.

━━━━━━━━━━

Mira

Mira hates herself a little for her arrogance.

But she also doesn't like to give in.

She doesn't want to be an easy victim. She doesn't want people to think she's fragile and sweet. No. She's not an idiot, she can't let anyone get close. She doesn't need anyone. Mira is enough on her own.

Mira doesn't need gods. She doesn't need Aphrodite or that damn charm and blessing. And most importantly of all, she doesn't need love.

Holding grudges has been a big problem since she ran away from home. Mira can't forgive. She prefers to keep the lump in her throat and the pain it causes. She prefers to live with it rather than give other people an opening to hurt her again. Prefers to be called mean and nonchalant than to open up to someone again.

Even though her heart still calls out for Rumi. Even though every time Mira sees her at the lake she wants to approach her, be comforted, and say she's sorry and wants to talk about what happened…

She doesn't do it.

And every time Mira considers changing that, even when she thinks about overcoming and forgiving, she remembers the pain. How painful it was to deal with what had already happened. She doesn't want to have to heal another pain. Not when she hasn't even healed those open wounds in her fragile heart.

And although Zoey was able to warm that jagged heart, Mira can't allow herself to open up to it. She tries to remember that she doesn't need anyone. That she doesn't need love.

But Mira also knows that her heart yearns for Zoey and Rumi with every beat.

Maybe someday she'll learn to forgive and let go.

But Mira would avoid that day with all the strength she can muster.

━━━━━━━━━━

Rumi

Rumi used to suffer from the strength of her loyalty. She knew herself well enough to know that she would let the world and Olympus burn if it meant the life of someone she loved.

And she knew she would face any monsters for the people she loved.

But she had already lost everyone who mattered to her.

Every day that pain grew.

And when she lost herself—after that time she was punished by Zeus and suffered wounds beyond the physical—Rumi had forgotten who she was.

Fury consumed her. And the grudges she harbors against the gods are unleashed against everything and everyone who bothers her. Whether it is a child asking for help with equipment, a half-sibling calling her to discuss combat strategies, or a satyr asking her for a favor, Rumi responds to all of them the same way she responds to one of the few gods who still dare to ask her for a quest.

With arrogance. Being rude. Without feelings.

She isn't interested anymore. She doesn't care. She doesn't want to.

Rumi isn't the same person anymore. Just a tired and angry version, too disillusioned to care about anything.

And although she has been changed so much by grief, she still strives to keep the promises she made to the people she lost. She still wants to make sure that the Cabin 5 continues to maintain its glory, as she had promised herself when she took the position that once belonged to Jinu as their head counselor. Rumi struggles to keep her prayers constant, for she had promised Hestia and Hades that she would never stop thanking them for everything they had done for her and the people she loved.

But Rumi hates herself for not fulfilling the only lesson that reminds her of her mothers.

She could still hear Miyeong and Celine telling her that she should be kind and strong.

But Rumi doesn't want to be strong.

And she is exhausted from being kind.

She just wants a little peace. She wants to be able to sleep without being tormented by nightmares. She wants to be able to wake up without fearing an invasion at the camp.

Rumi just wants a home.

A home she lost the moment Mira left her. A home that could no longer exist, and she couldn't even blame the gods for it. She only blames herself.

And now, whenever she is guided to that sweet voice that had recently begun to sound every morning at the lake, Rumi sees Mira with her.

With Zoey.

Zoey and that smile that irritates her so much. Zoey and that damned voice that charms the other campers. Zoey and that excess of positivity that pisses her to her bones.

Rumi is aware that she will die soon if she doesn't control her own anger and learn to forget those grudges.

But she hasn't seen any hope for herself in a long time.

[charminhearts]

Offerings and Prayers

━━━━━━━━━━

Zoey started to pray to Apollo at a young age.

As soon as she met him and understood who he truly is.

He's the reason she survived all these years. Apollo is more than a godly parent to her—he is a friend, the only one she managed to keep her whole life.

━━━━━━━━━━

Mira doesn't like having to pray. She hates the obligation to set aside a portion of her food for her mother and pray to her, as if Aphrodite deserves anything good that Mira can give her.

But she does.

She prays every day to set an example for the other children in her Cabin.

━━━━━━━━━━

No one knows who Rumi prays to.

The most accurate assumption would be that she prays to Ares, as she's a head counselor and a demigod with the blessing of her godly parent. But every day Rumi sets aside two portions of her food. A custom that everyone considers somewhat ironic, given the many rumors about Rumi's hatred for the gods.

Rumi prays to two gods every day ever since she was taught that she should pray. Ever since Jinu taught her to set aside the best part of the food and offer it to their father, Ares.

But Rumi doesn't pray to Ares anymore.

Every day she sets aside a portion of her food for Hades. She thanks him for keeping the Underworld functioning and begs him that all friends she has lost are safe in the Elysian Fields.

As a child, she used to ask Hades to give her mothers and Jinu back to her. But she grew up and understood that it was no longer within the god's power, and she began to thank him every day. To this day, the only thing she begs for is that Miyeoung and Celine did not end up in the Fields of Asphodel. She prays that her mothers, who died honorably trying to save her, had a better fate—they deserve to join the heroes in the Elysian Fields.

And Rumi prays to Hestia. She kneels to thank the goddess for giving her a home even after the loss of her mothers, and to beg her to keep Camp Half-Blood safe. She asks her for guidance to protect her home. And she promises her every day that she will die fighting for the safety of the people she loves.

[charminhearts]

Zoey's first year at Camp Half-Blood

Zoey's first day at Camp Half-Blood was quite chaotic. The campers who welcomed her were impressed by her age, for having survived so long alone on the streets. She settled into Cabin 7 that same day, avoiding socializing with the kids she encountered as much as possible. They all reminded her of the little brother she left behind.

She arrived at CHB on a Friday. The head counselor of Cabin 7 left her with their others half-siblings because he needed to go to a meeting with the Blue Team allies to discuss a strategy against the Red Team.

Zoey was briefed on how things worked there by a boy a little younger than her... who kept asking how she was still alive.

Zoey considered the life expectancy of demigods insane. How could those kids be so surprised that she lived to 17? She was about to turn 18, and that seemed abnormal.

But as she walked around the camp, she realized there weren't any adult demigods there. Only small children, pre-teens, teenagers. She wondered if she wouldn't find any adults besides Mr. D and the magical creatures.

She tried not to think about it too much, though. She wasn't going to stay there for so long anyway. Things always ended up going wrong for Zoey, and sooner or later she would lose that home too. It wasn't worth getting attached.

She would enjoy it while the universe didn't turn against her and force her to abandon CHB.

So she put on that orange shirt with a small lyre embroidered on the back of it, and accepted an empty beaded necklace to wear. She noticed that the other children in the cabin had one or two beads on theirs. The head counselor had five. They symbolized how many years those kids had spent at camp, and Zoey began to observe the necklaces of the other campers to find out how long they had been there too.

She walked all around to get to know the place and ended up unintentionally crashing the meeting between the head counselors. She only realized she was where she shouldn't be when she spoke up in the room.

They were planning an attack against the Red team in such an obvious way that she almost felt sorry for them.

"You should put up distractions," Zoey said, drawing their attention.

The head counselor of her cabin promptly apologized to them, but before he could ask her to leave, someone else did the opposite.

"What do you suggest?" asked the most beautiful girl Zoey had ever seen in her life.

She tried not to look so pathetic while stopping the drool from running down her chin. She wondered who this earthly incarnation of Aphrodite was when the other campers in the room started laughing.

"Mira and her strong charm uh. already making the new girl fall head over heels for you," said a guy covered in grease, and Zoey blinked, stunned.

So that girl was capable of paralyzing her just by talking to her? Pfft. She would definitely use that charm in her plan.

She offered a strategy to capture the red flag by having Aphrodite’s kids distract the opponents on the battlefield, with the grease-covered strong guy serving as their support. And Zoey volunteered to steal the flag.

No one wanted to go along with her plan except the head counselor of her own cabin—perhaps more out of pity and fraternity than trust—and the pretty girl with the strong charm.

Mira managed to convince the others to accept Zoey's plan when she assured them she would keep Rumi distracted.

"Who is Rumi?" Zoey asked, and the big, grease-covered guy whistled. He guided Zoey to the window overlooking a training field where some campers were dueling and pointed to the girl wearing chunky boots, heavy black clothes, fighting with such furious expression.

Zoey wagged her eyebrows, dumbfounded. Wowies.

"Nah, it's gonna be a piece of cake, trust." the others stared at Zoey as if she'd come from the moon.

"No one has ever defeated Rumi in a battle. She's ruthless. Strong. The camper with the most years of training and successful missions," Mira said.

"I mean, we don't need to fight her. She's big, but she's not two. Divide and conquer will work.”

The big guy burst out laughing and slapped Zoey's shoulder. "I like this girl, let's follow her plan."

Zoey shrugged, returning to the table where a map was displayed with some figurines. There was a particular figurine of Rumi with an angry expression and all.

"What's your idea to distract Rumi?" the cabin 7 counselor asked.

"She’d never fall into a simple trap," Mira replied.

Zoey crossed her arms and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Just use your charm on her.”

The silence that followed in the room was heavy. Zoey ended up apologizing for the joke and said she was just messing, but Mira started laughing, somewhat charmed by her audacity.

The blue team followed Zoey's plan, placing Cabin 10 on the front line of battle and surprising Cabin 5 immediately. Rumi, especially. She didn't want to fight. Not against Mira. And Mira was determined to distract her that night.

For the first time since they broke up, they were face to face with each other in the worst possible way. Rumi couldn't fight back. She remained on the defensive and didn't allow anyone to even try to attack Mira, and that disrupted the coordination of the battle when campers from Hephaestus Cabin arrived to help Aphrodite's kids.

Rumi only realized the red flag was no longer safe when the new girl appeared in the middle of the mess. She carried Rumi's team's flag clutched in her teeth as she ran awkwardly, trying to dodge weapons flying in her direction.

Rumi didn't think twice before throwing her own sword at the girl. Mira yelled for Zoey, alerting her to the danger, and then Rumi saw her ex-girlfriend protect that girl for the rest of the night, which ended with the blue team winning a Capture the Flag for the first time in thirteen years.

Zoey met Rumi at the celebration around the campfire. She didn't yet know the camp songs, but she was overjoyed to see her half-siblings singing around the bonfire.

She was distracted eating when she noticed someone behind her. Turning around, she found Rumi there.

"A sour face means hunger," she informed, seeing the serious expression on Rumi's face. "If you ask nicely, I'll share my dinner. Say please." She held the sandwich up toward her with a playful smile.

Rumi raised her chin and narrowed her eyes. A clever one, then. Cunning enough to plot against Rumi. Rumi crouched down to her level, clicking her tongue.

"I don't beg." Rumi's teeth chattered after saying that. She stepped away from Zoey with an even more irritated expression.

Zoey waved it off. maybe she was just upset about losing. And people tend not to like Zoey's jokes anyway.

━━━━━━━━━━

Aaaaand that wasn't the only time Zoey heard those three little words come out of Rumi's mouth.

Zoey might have thought her a little snobbish and spoiled for that behavior, but she ended up being charmed by the rudeness. She even told Mira that she was curious and interested in that girl, stating that she would even try to get closer and be friends if Rumi didn't seem so inclined to hate her, and she couldn't understand why.

Not until one day, when she went with Mira to the lake, where Rumi grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and lifted her off the ground with such ease that Zoey realized that her angry pose wasn't all bark and no bite. No. She was really angry at Zoey, and Zoey didn't even understand why.

Then Mira explained something extremely important.

Exes. They are exes. Rumi's ego was probably hurt by losing the last match to the new girl, and now she was jealous of the closeness between Zoey and Mira. What a beautiful life, what a lovely life. Zoey was definitely screwed.

She kept a safe distance from Rumi after what happened at the lake, focusing more on learning to adapt to her new life at CHB.

━━━━━━━━━━

Mira proved to be a great friend over time. They grew closer naturally, and if Zoey felt attracted to her, it wasn't because of that charm. Other campers from the Aphrodite cabin had already approached her, and she didn't feel as affected as she did when she was near Mira.

They grew closer and closer each day. They trained together, spent time at the lake together, and prepared for camp activities together. They became inseparable friends, sharing stories of their lives before arriving at CHB. They were on great terms at the beginning of their friendship.

And Mira felt terrible every time Rumi was mean to Zoey.

It started with the first capture the flag when she almost hit Zoey in the throat with her sword. Then on the day at the lake when Rumi lifted her by the collar. Then in a chariot race, when Zoey and Mira were together for the activity, and Rumi almost hit Zoey in the head with a spear.

Rumi's anger only increased every time Zoey won an activity and took advantage of it to provoke Rumi, whether directly or indirectly.

Zoey no longer cared whether Rumi liked her or not. She wasn't scared by the threats. She didn't bend before her.

And that intrigued Rumi deeply.

She was doing everything to push that girl away, to make her hate her as much as Rumi wanted to hate her too, but Zoey wouldn't budge. She didn't even flinch at the threats, continued to provoke her with that roguish smile, and had even said she could help her relieve her stress.

Rumi wanted to punch her.

She wanted to grab her by the neck and throw her away, but she couldn't.

That would only make Mira hate her more. Or at least that's what she kept telling to herself.

So she decided to ignore the existence of that damned daughter of Apollo and focus solely on her responsibilities at CHB. Preparing her half-siblings for duels, devising new combat strategies, trying not to think about Mira and Zoey.

But she failed. And she knew why.

She still loved Mira unconditionally. She still wanted her around every day. She still wanted a chance to redeem herself. She still longed to make her smile.

━━━━━━━━━━

But now she saw her smiling at someone else. Now she had to watch Mira surrender to new feelings for Zoey. For that stupid girl who had the most beautiful voice Rumi had ever heard.

As the months passed, Zoey learned the camp’s songs, and whenever she joined her siblings around the bonfire, Rumi found herself staring.

The weight of her fears eased whenever Zoey was singing.

Zoey charmed all the campers and magical creatures there in the few months since she arrived.

That adorable smile.

The terrible jokes that always made people laugh because they were so fucking bad.

That hopeful and bright look.

Every little detail of Zoey charmed everyone around her.

Rumi didn't blame Mira for being so head over heels for that girl.

She stopped chasing and attacking Zoey when she saw the way she made Mira smile. When she saw them hugging, talking, and mapping the stars.

━━━━━━━━━━

So Rumi prepared to leave Camp Half-Blood. She had gathered her belongings and was just finishing training the next head counselor who would take her place. She would leave and let Mira live her life in peace. She would leave and wouldn't need to be reminded of the love she lost every day she saw them together.

She would leave and wait for the moment when the three Fates would cut the thread of her fate. A part of her longed for it to happen soon.

It wasn't worth staying at Camp Half-Blood. No one needed her around. She had long since accepted that her life no longer had any purpose.

━━━━━━━━━━

Rumors of Rumi's departure spread quickly throughout CHB.

Mira discovered it during one night when she and Zoey were together again, after dinner, before they needed to go to their cabins. Zoey told her about the rumor and saw the way Mira's expression faded; she was sad.

It was obvious.

Zoey asked why she never spoke to Rumi again. Why she let what happened with Aphrodite hurt her so much.

Zoey said they should talk about it.

But Mira just looked away at the dark sky and remained silent for the rest of the night, avoiding talking about anything, just enjoying Zoey's presence.

She knew she was starting to fall in love with the girl, just as she knew she still had feelings that screamed for Rumi every day.

And she refused to give in. For either of them. She wouldn't give Aphrodite the satisfaction of seeing her surrender to love again. She could continue ignoring Rumi until she left. But that tightness in her chest warned her that perhaps she couldn't bear to live without knowing if Rumi was alright.

Zoey didn't understand how gods could be so cruel to their children. She was lucky to have a caring godly parent like Apollo, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for the other campers. Especially Rumi.

Rumi didn't deserve half of what she went through.

Zoey had heard enough stories about her past. It wasn't fair to her. Just as it wasn't fair to Mira. Or to any of the other campers who had been neglected and hurt their whole lives.

She found people exactly like her, in the end. All deeply hurt by something or someone, all with stories that left her with a lump in her throat.

She realized too late how much she loved that place. How much she wanted to help every demigod there. How much she wanted to make people's lives a little better. She tried so hard for them, helping the younger ones, comforting her half-siblings who said they couldn't sleep because of nightmares.

She rocked those children back and forth until they finally fell asleep again, singing to them, hugging them tightly.

And the moment she realized how attached she already was, Zoey wanted to leave. She couldn't stay. She couldn't love them that much. She already knew that movie and how it would end.

Maybe she should leave too.

She would end up alone.

But she was called for a quest.

━━━━━━━━━━

Mira couldn't understand what the gods' problem was. They were always losing things and couldn't find them on their own. Couldn't they just take care of these things that were so important to them? No! Let the demigods figure out how to find the weapons they forgot in hell. Let the demigods figure out how to fight the gods' battles. Let the demigods die trying to prevent the end of the world.

Mira was angry. From the moment they summoned Zoey, sweet Zoey, for that quest, anger consumed her. It wasn't fair. She only had one year of training. One bead on her necklace. She might have excellent archery skills, she might fight well, but she didn't have enough training time for a quest. That was cruel. Mira didn't want to leave her. Mira couldn't lose Zoey too.

And Mira breathed a sigh of relief when Zoey chose her to accompany her on that quest.

Mira was angry, she wouldn't lie about it. She was angry and stressed and scared. She hadn't been on a quest since... since her best friend died. This would be her second quest. And she was terrified.

But she didn't let it show. She remained composed and waited for Zoey to choose the last person who would accompany her on the quest.

All the campers tensed when Zoey announced who she wanted on her team.

Chiron and even Dionysus were astonished by her choice.

But Zoey was making the right choice. She knew she was. The prophecy she received was very clear. She would need both of them.

Rumi and Mira would go with Zoey on her first quest.

And she just prayed—begged her father, Apollo, to guide her. To bless her. To make her prosper.

She didn't want to disappoint anyone.

She needed to protect them at all costs.

And she needed to complete that quest. No matter the cost, Zoey was going to retrieve Ares' magic spear.

[charminhearts]

Every day Rumi went to the lake, in hope to find Mira there.

Desperate for a chance to explain why she'd got involved in her quest.

But Mira didn't go to the lake anymore...

She couldn’t bear to remember the love she still felt for Rumi.

Rather than go to the place where they had declared their love, where their first kiss happened, where they'd learned to fight together... Mira chose to erase that comfort from her life entirely.

And every day Rumi went back to her Cabin with that same expression she had ever since Mira break up with her—one filled with hatred and resentment

And this time she had no one but herself to blame.

It wasn't the gods' fault--- It wasn't her father's fault---

It was her fault.

Now Rumi watched Mira from afar, as if they were strangers. As if the last two years together had never happened.

She can't bear to have lost Mira.

Worst of all, one day Mira returned to the lake.

With her-

Zoey.

That damned daughter of Apollo.

[charminhearts]

Zoey Lawrence-Jang, daughter of Apollo

Zoey's mother found out she was pregnant at the same time she regretted getting involved with Apollo. What was she thinking? She had a good husband who cared for her and had always done everything for her, and she cheated on him with someone else—not just anyone. A god.

From the moment Zoey was born and Apollo showed up to visit her on a day her husband wasn't home, Zoey's mother made it clear she didn't want the god around anymore. No matter what he had to say, she needed to take care of her daughter. Her husband didn't suspect a thing. She needed to stay married if she wanted to give her child a good life.

Apollo was worried. She wouldn't even listen to him, saying she would call her husband if he returned. Apollo needed to warn her that Zoey's life wouldn't be easy, that she would need the god nearby to guide her, that she would need to go to Camp Half-Blood once she was old enough, but she refused all the god's attempts to talk to her. The only thing she knew was that she needed to protect Zoey from monsters.

Panic consumed Zoey's mother. A constant panic. She didn't want Apollo to find her again. She asked her husband to move that same day. Mr. Lawrence had no objections, accepting his wife's request and arranging a move to a house in the big city, as she'd requested.

He raised Zoey with all the love and patience in the world. The first five years were peaceful, perfect. His wife asked for their daughter to be homeschooled, and he didn't object. Despite some slight concerns about the mental health of both his wife and daughter, he thought everything would be fine. Especially now that she was pregnant again. Zoey was going to get a little brother!

But things weren't exactly okay. There was definitely something wrong with his wife. Not long after the baby was born, she fell anxious, detached, and overwhelmed by frequent panic attacks. He didn't understand what was wrong. Maybe he should have taken better care of her. When he asked her what she wanted to feel better, the only thing she said was that she wanted to move again.

He didn't question it. Even though he couldn't understand what was wrong with that house, they just moved again. And then things went back to normal—his wife seemed fine. A little overprotective of Zoey and their little baby, but fine. She didn't even have dark circles under her eyes anymore. She went back to taking care of herself and eating well. His house seemed peaceful once more.

Zoey's mother tried not to fall back into her old habits that time. She really did. Maybe Apollo was wrong... But why did she keep seeing monsters outside the house?

She had to protect Zoey. She couldn't let any of them find her. They would hurt her, they would hurt her son, her husband would find out.

Zoey kept growing. And the older she got, the more her mother realized Apollo was right—trouble seemed to be following her. Whenever one of her husband's friends came over with their children to play with Zoey, the children would run out, claiming Zoey was crazy. She believed in things that didn't exist. She was too aggressive to be their friend.

Her husband didn't believe anything. Zoey was his little angel. Every time a friend was mean to her, he would hug her and remind her that everything was okay, that she would find people who would love all of her soon. She just needed to wait a little longer. Zoey remained happy despite not being able to make friends. He always believed that Zoey carried a little piece of the sun inside her. She was his little ray of sunshine.

When Zoey asked to go to school like all the other children, her father could only give in to her pout and bright brown eyes. And then his wife was changing again. Every day more overprotective, every day more frightened. She couldn't sleep anymore. She used to stare at their window in complete fear, and he couldn't understand what was wrong. He didn't know she could see through the Mist. That she saw monsters and mythological creatures walking around and always feared Zoey wouldn't come back home one day.

He insisted she should see a doctor when her health began to affect their children. But she wouldn't. She insisted she needed to stay home and care for Zoey and Joseph, insisted they needed her close, that she needed to be there for them. Internally, she reminded herself she needed to be present and aware of the monsters if any of them ever entered their house.

And then Zoey started to worry him even more, especially after the school expelled her. She'd had several fights with other kids, she always claimed to have seen monsters wandering around the school, she used to draw said monsters during class, constantly distracted. The principal told him he should be aware of possible ADHD and dyslexia.

Zoey blamed herself for the misunderstandings she caused at school. She swore she didn't mean it, that the other kids always started the bullying and she was just defending herself, but no one believed her. No one but her father.

He continued to hold and support her, enrolled her in a new school, and began paying more attention to her. When she was at home, Zoey remained the same child she always was. A bit restless, of course—that's how children are, after all, but he would never see any reason to expel her from a school. And so she was expelled again.

And again. And again. And again.

They had to move to another city when there were no more schools to enroll her. And he began to lose patience with Zoey. No matter how much medication she was taking for ADHD, how many tutors he hired to try to improve her dyslexia, she seemed unfixable. His wife was getting worse every day. His youngest son felt neglected.

Maybe it would be best to go back to homeschooling Zoey for a while, just until his wife got better. That way, he would have more time to spend with his two children and take care of his wife. He should start working from home too. It would be better for his family.

Things seemed to be getting back to normal. On Zoey's ninth birthday, she was having fun at home with her family. It was a cozy and peaceful day. When Mr. Lawrence called his wife to take her meds and left their children alone in the backyard, he came back running when he heard them screaming and crying.

Joseph was hurt. And so was Zoey. Both of them were covered in scratches. He didn't understand what had happened. And when Zoey started saying that a monster had attacked them and then the sun had come down from the sky to help her...

Zoey's mother covered her ears with her hands and screamed, repeating the words "monsters, sun, Apollo" in her panic. And between his frightened wife, his injured son, and what his daughter had said, he lost his temper.

He grounded Zoey.

He told her he didn't want her telling lies anymore. That she should have taken better care of her brother. He didn't believe anything she said, and her father's reaction—just like everyone else's who never believed her—hurt Zoey deeply.

It was even worse when Zoey tried to reach out to her mother, telling her the same story she'd told her father, and she began to shake and sob. Saying that monsters had come. That they would take her children. That she hadn't protected them properly.

Zoey's father was furious now, telling her not to worry her mother with lies, that she should be good and protect her family, not tell lies to scare them, not tell lies to protect herself from the truth—Mr. Lawrence insisted that Zoey had let her little brother get hurt in some irresponsible prank.

Zoey felt terrible even though she knew it was the truth. But even her little brother hadn't seen what she had. He said he saw a bird attack his sister and scratch them. That he didn't see any sun coming down from the sky to protect them.

No one but Zoey seemed to have seen a Fury in the backyard, calling her a half-blood and saying it would kill her. No one but Zoey saw the sun descend from the sky to protect her from that monster. No one but Zoey seemed to see the world the way she does.

Her little brother didn't want to play with her anymore after that day.

Her father grounded her for weeks.

Her mother never returned to her normal self.

And it was all Zoey's fault.

━━━━━━━━━━

After Zoey's 10th birthday, her family was no longer the same. Her father didn't treat her the same way. He became distant, but he still cared for them. He still did everything he could for their family. He still tried to save his wife and keep his children safe.

Zoey was enrolled in a school again. She was warned that this was her last chance to be good. She shouldn't be expelled. She should be good for her family.

And she tried so hard.

But monsters seemed to keep chasing her no matter what she did. She couldn't tell anyone about anything. She still had no friends. She couldn't disappoint her family. The principal would never believe her. The other students didn't like her.

She was bullied every day and couldn't do anything. She couldn't tell anyone. She had to go through it alone and be good to her family.

━━━━━━━━━━

During summer break, Zoey was praised by her father for not being expelled. She was doing great. Her grades were acceptable for her to continue in school. He was so proud of her.

She didn't say anything to him. She couldn't. Her mother was still sick. Her little brother didn't deserve any more trouble in his life. He was only five years old, after all. He didn't deserve to suffer because of Zoey. He seemed normal. He didn't seem cursed like she is. Everything would be fine if she didn't disobey her father.

━━━━━━━━━━

One day, Joseph was playing in the neighborhood with some friends.

And Zoey saw a monster nearby.

She didn't understand what kind of creature it was—so big, so scary.

Zoey ran outside and told her brother to go inside. She couldn't risk him being hurt by that beast. Joseph's friends' parents told Mr. Lawrence what had happened.

He confronted Zoey for lying again. He told her not to scare others with her nonsense. That her mother was getting worse because of her lies.

Zoey was so angry.

Why doesn't anyone believe her? Why is nothing she does good enough? It's not fair. She just wanted to protect her baby brother.

She was grounded again.

And she was so tired of obeying.

She grabbed her skateboard and went skateboarding around the neighborhood.

Her dad saw her leaving.

And so did the monster.

When Zoey was walking home later, she saw the monster nearby and decided to ignore it. It wasn't real. Monsters didn't exist, and she should grow up. Her father wouldn't like it if she said she saw a monster again.

But why was this thing that shouldn't exist coming toward her—? No. It's not real. Zoey kept walking. There was no monster there. She could keep telling herself that for a while, and maybe it would come true—but when it was close enough to hurt her... Zoey started screaming.

Her arm was bleeding now. And she needed to run. She put her skateboard down and ran away, looking back only to find her father yelling for her, and the monster chasing her closely.

She couldn't stop running to explain to her father what was happening. It wasn't her imagination. It was real. Too real. It was still a lion with a goat's head breathing fire.

And what the hell was the purpose of that goat head?! Zoey didn't even want to find out what that beast's tail could do! she just needed to escape before she was caug—

The beast hit her skateboard and sent her rolling to the ground. She felt a sharp pain in her leg, the sky began to glow just like it had the last times she was chased by a monster, and then she woke up in the hospital.

Zoey heard her father's voice yelling at someone. Telling them she was his daughter. That his wife would never cheat on him. That monsters and demigods didn't exist.

She didn't understand who Apollo was. She didn't understand why her father kept yelling that Zoey would never be daughter of a god. And that man standing in her hospital room looked familiar. Now she remembered seeing him nearby every time a monster attacked her. Had it been him all along?

Zoey tried to move out of bed to speak to them, but a strange sensation consumed her when she tried to move her legs. She felt a pain so intense that she started to cry.

Apollo and Mr. Lawrence stopped talking instantly. The god was the first to approach her, checking her injuries and helping her carefully. Zoey stared at him, somewhat confused and fascinated. Who was that man?

━━━━━━━━━━

Apollo remained silent as he tended to his daughter's wounds. He blamed himself for not arriving in time to save her that time. He should have been more attentive. That Chimera had managed to injure her enough to cause irreversible damage. He tried to sound as calm as possible as he spoke to the girl's mortal father and explained the situation.

The man was furious, of course. He couldn't believe anything that "god" said. Demigods? Monsters? He wanted to take his daughter to a camp?! His wife had cheated on him? No. This was all nonsense. This couldn't really be happening.

But the wounds on his daughter's body were still very real. She had still lost a leg. She was still vulnerable and groggy in that hospital bed. And he had left his wife and son alone in the house—Joseph probably hadn't even eaten yet. He needed to get home. He had to take care of his family. His wife was too sick to care for herself, too.

Mr. Lawrence left the hospital after calling his parents and asking them for help. He would need his family close while Zoey was in the hospital.

A nurse stayed with Apollo and Zoey and he said he'd be back soon.

But he never did.

A car crash as sudden as all the events of that night.

Zoey stared at her bedroom ceiling in silence for days after that day. Blaming herself for leaving home. Blaming herself for disobeying. Why couldn't she be good? She should have stayed home with her parents. She should have helped her father more. Instead, she disobeyed. And now she couldn't even help anyone anymore.

━━━━━━━━━━

Her father would never come home again. Could she still call him by that title? The conversation she'd overheard between Apollo and him had made it clear to her that she wasn't even his daughter.

Apollo continued to visit her, claiming to be a concerned doctor. He checked Zoey's leg and offered options for prosthetics and wheelchairs for her grandparents. He said he could help whenever they needed it. And he spent a lot of time trying to help Zoey's mother, too. But not even the god of healing could get her out of that state. He didn't know how much longer she would live, and all he feared was that Zoey wouldn't be able to handle it all.

He met Zoey's little brother.

He reached out to her as best he could.

He tried not to invade the family's space, not to invade that moment of grief and difficulty.

But one day, he was hiding in Zoey's room when he overheard her grandparents say they were taking the children. Their mother was in no condition to care for them both. They couldn't trust her.

Zoey was in the living room with her little brother, watching cartoons. She seemed better that day, despite the evident sadness in that look that should have been shining—she should have been a happy child, Apollo should have taken better care of her.

And he refused to let her continue living defenseless. She needed help. She needed to go to Camp Half-Blood, learn to fight.

But Zoey refused.

He said he would take her to CHB and she would have friends like her, but she refused... because she needed to be with her family. Because it was her duty to take care of them.

Apollo gave her a prosthetic leg made by Hephaestus himself and helped her adapt. He stayed close as best he could, sometimes setting the sun a few minutes earlier so he could teach her how to use a bow. Or bring her food. Or tell her stories about demigods like her.

Zoey was loving the time she spent with Mr. Apollo. He was nice. Now she felt like she had a friend, someone who cared about her, someone who trully understood her, and she didn't have to worry about being perfect, not with him.

━━━━━━━━━━

Zoey had to grow up before the right time, having too many responsibilities for her age. She took care of her mother and brother at her paternal grandparents' house.

She thought she could help her mother.

But one day, Zoey told her mother that Mr. Apollo was teaching her how to heal people, and she could help her now.

The mention of Apollo's name brought the woman back to consciousness before panic consumed her again.

And Zoey now lived with the unbearable guilt of having lost both her parents and it being her fault.

She couldn't stop blaming herself.

If she hadn't left the house that night, her father would still be alive.

If she hadn't said Apollo's name around her mother, she would still be there. She wouldn't have... she... she would still be alive too.

Zoey couldn't keep cursing everything she touched. What was the point of being the daughter of Apollo, the god of healing, if she kept destroying everything around her?

Zoey tried not to let these thoughts get to her. She really did.

But after monsters also found her grandparents' house, she had no choice but to run away.

She couldn't keep cursing other people's lives. Her little brother deserved a chance, deserved a normal life. Her grandparents didn't deserve the burden of caring for her.

She was perfectly fine on her own.

She didn't need anyone else.

She would no longer be the reason for anyone else's death

She couldn't lose anyone if she had no one around.

Apollo didn't approve of the idea at all.

The moment he found her far from home, with a backpack and wandering aimlessly through the streets, he begged her to go back home. Or to Camp Half-Blood.

He even tried to convince her to join the Hunters of Artemis too!

He just wanted her to be safe.

But Zoey didn't want to curse another house. Anyone who got close to her always got hurt. It was better if she were alone.

But the monsters continued to haunt her.

Apollo had given Zoey Celestial bronze weapons to defend herself against the monsters. He dedicated himself to caring for her on the streets for the following years.

Apollo continued to care for her from afar, especially when she needed a new prosthetic leg, food, money.

He wanted to help more, but if she didn't go to CHB, there wasn't much that could be done.

But, slowly, he led her closer to Long Island.

A trip to another country, then to another city—hey, let's go somewhere new now. And when she realized he'd already left her sooooo close to CHB.

Finally, Zoey agreed to go to CHB, after being chased by so many monsters that she only managed to escape because Apollo saved her.

She began to feel like a burden to him and didn't want him to have to save her all the time.

So she went to CHB, already 17 years old.

And she was welcomed there on a Friday with a fun "capture the flag" where Ryu Rumi almost ripped her head off—because after 13 years, Cabin 5 had lost a battle.

Zoey held the red team flag with a smile on her face, and her half-siblings took her to the campfire, celebrating, teaching her the camp songs.

Ryu Rumi continued to glare at her from afar. She looked so pissed.

Zoey didn't take it personally. It's normal to be upset when you lose a match, right?

But then she went to the chariot race with her new friend, Kang Mira, from cabin 10.

And Ryu Rumi tried to kill her again.

Zoey didn't understand why her father had said she would be safe at that camp. In her first week there, she was already sworn to death by a daughter of Ares.

Gods help her. Maybe she needs a salt bath to wash away all this bad luck.

[charminhearts]

Ryu Rumi, daughter of Ares

Rumi didn't have many memories of her family other than two pics in an old locket.

The thing she hated most about her life was not being able to remember her mothers' voice.

Memories of her last day with her omma and mama were the main cause of her nightmares.

She remembered the way Miyeong fought to save her from a Minotaur on their way to the Camp Half-Blood. She remembered her screams telling Rumi to run after putting that locket around her neck.

But she doesn't remember her voice as it should have been. Gentle, calm, happy.

She had nothing to hold on to anymore; the only thing she remembered since losing Miyeong was that she hated her father.

"Ares, protector of women." What a bullshit. Miyeong was screaming for mercy in that forest, and no one moved to save her. No one bothered to help her mother

What would Rumi do to save her? She was only five years old.

She had vague memories of that day, how Celine stayed behind trying to fight the Minotaur and told Miyeong to run away with Rumi. She remembered her mothers doing everything they could to take her to the CHB safely.

Did she lose her mothers because Ares couldn't take her himself to the camp that would train her to kill monsters like that? Couldn't Ares, the protector of women, have done anything to help them?

All her nightmares since that day remind her why she hated the gods.

Rumi was one of the youngest children to arrive at CHB. She was only 5 years old when Chiron took her in, and she’d spent days without speaking to anyone.

She listened to all the older demigods talk about the events that led them to the camp.

Some had been led by a guardian Satyr, others found their way with the guidance of their godly parents. And some demigods wondered why Rumi had been pursued by a monster so soon. A daughter of Ares. Her scent wasn't even that strong back then.

She was so young, so tiny.

The head counselor of Cabin 5 took her in immediately, caring for his little sister, hugging her when she couldn't sleep at night.

But Rumi didn't want to be there. She wanted to go home. She wanted her mothers. She didn't even know who Ares was or what she was doing there.

She opened that locket every day, crying as she saw her moms. There were two photos in the locket. One with Miyeong holding little Rumi when she was an infant. The other was from when Celine joined their little family last year. Rumi wanted her omma and mama back. It wasn't fair.

That was why she tried to run away. leave that camp and go home. It couldn't be true. Her mothers must be so worried, right? She could still go home and have a cuddle time with her mothers.

She needed omma Miyeong's cuddles to fall asleep. She wanted to play with mama Celine again

But Dionysus was keenly aware of the child's movements as she began to wander off into the forest at dinnertime. And the god followed closely behind, even though he hated his life there and those kids, he didn't want to let the little one go. She would die.

Rumi hated not being able to escape. Hated when Dionysus told her her mothers were gone. Hated going to sleep and having nightmares about that night over and over and over again. She didn't want to learn to fight. She didn't want to go on quests.

Jinu, head counselor of Cabin 5, didn't let anyone force Rumi to do anything she didn't want to do. He embraced her and helped her adjust to life there, caring for Rumi and carrying her on his shoulders when she didn't want to walk. Getting the best food for her, making her smile

Slowly, Rumi began participating in the campfire. She learned the camp songs. She made more friends, other little kids from Cabin 11 and Cabin 6.

She wanted to learn how to wield a sword like her older half-brother, he was so cool! And he promptly got a wooden sword for her.

Jinu laughed when she tried to wield his sword and fell under the weight of the weapon.

He taught her how to braid her hair. He took care of her all the times

And one day Rumi managed to go a whole day without crying.

A night without nightmares.

A week of smiling and having fun.

She participated in her first chariot race and they won, but it was all thanks for her half-brother! She learned that Jinu was the strongest guy in the CHB, and she wanted to be like him too.

But her nightmares came back the first day Jinu didn't sing her to sleep.

He was away on a quest. Their father needed Jinu.

Time skip

She couldn't understand why the campers who went on the quest with Jinu gave her his sword, saying he wanted her to keep it.

Why was there now a new head counselor who wasn't her favorite half-brother?

Why didn't Ares protect Jinu too?

Why didn't any of the gods seem to care about their children?

Why were there fewer demigods in the camp with each quest?

━━━━━━━━━━

She grew up filled with fury for each of the gods.

She learned to wield the sword Jinu left her.

She was chosen as a quest leader for the first time at age eleven. She returned to the CHB with a Minotaur horn as a trophy from a successful quest.

And with each new mission she was called on, she met with her friends upon her victorious return for a celebration at the campfire.

She was loved by all her half-siblings, Satyrs, Centaurs. Every younger child in the camp knew Rumi would welcome them and teach them how to wield any weapon.

She became known as one of the kindest demigods there. Ironic that she was a daughter of Ares, wasn't it?

But she also grew known for her fury while fighting monsters.

Demigods who accompanied her on quests would say Rumi fought like a demon.

She enjoyed collecting trophies from each monster she slew.

And she always disdained the gods. She confronted them directly.

The gods warned Ares that his daughter needed to start respecting them. A demigod shouldn't speak that way about any of them.

Ares needed to control his daughter.

Instead, Ares learned to love Rumi's fury.

He blessed her. Proud of each of her achievements.

He appeared to her in person once, presenting her with a new sword and a strong shield. but she narrowed her eyes and said she didn't need him.

that made Ares smile.

So arrogant.

But it wasn't exactly a problem. She continued to serve the gods; she was their perfect weapon.

Rumi kept going on quests whenever she was called. Whether leading or helping campers, she didn't mind.

She just wanted the CHB to keep helping kids like her.

She helped the youngests, was there for the older ones, trained everyone patiently, and was always kind, always smiling

She loved her family now. The memory of the family she once had was now distant, the pain had become a memory.

She still kept her mother's locket with her. Every day she remembered how they had protected her. Jinu's sword was also special for her, something precious.

━━━━━━━━━━

At 15, she became the head counselor of Cabin 5, caring for her half-siblings with patience and affection, leading them, and winning every game at camp.

A great camper. A great friend. A great person. But she didn't respect the gods, and Zeus wanted to teach that girl a lesson.

the gods began to realize that no matter how they approached Rumi, she would never welcome them.

Athena's advice was always ignored.

Hera's approach was rejected with scorn.

Apollo insisted he could approach her, but Rumi maintained the same demeanor as always.

She always completed her quests despite this. And everyone knew why. She didn't care about pleasing the gods; she wanted to keep her home. CHB was all that mattered to Rumi, and as long as she remained standing to help her family, she was happy.

She would never abandon her family.

━━━━━━━━━━

Zeus remained annoyed, though. Of all the demigods at that camp, none had ever dared to ignore his offers.

How could she never visit Olympus? He’d sent Hermes to invite her, and Rumi refused. Said she'd be busy brushing her teeth or something. Ridiculous.

But she still served him. She always completed the quests he asked. So he let her continue living despite her petulance.

Until that day.

He was watching her return to CHB after completing a quest when Rumi said something that deeply angered him—and now she shall be punished.

How dare she question Zeus? Tell him he should start solving his own problems? That demigod needed to learn her place.

Zeus didn't think twice before throwing a lightning bolt at her, expecting to kill her instantly.

But he was surprised to see her defending herself.

A shield raised, an impact that didn't result in death but satisfied him nonetheless.

His lightning decimated the shield, turning it to dust, and her hand was injured. He watched her fall into a position that broke the bones in her legs and sent her face-first into a rock.

Damn the campers who gave her ambrosia and nectar. But hey. She won't walk anymore— She won't fight anymore?!

Who will do the super-difficult quests Zeus needs? That wasn't fair. He needed that demigod back.

Maybe he should send Apollo to help her.

━━━━━━━━━━

Zeus heard Apollo's news with some anger. Why couldn't Apollo fix her legs? But it was okay. Rumi would be cared for at CHB, and she would soon return to serving the gods.

━━━━━━━━━━

.

.

.

Rumi wanted to walk again.

She wanted to go to the 600th floor of the Empire State and destroy everything.

━━━━━━━━━━

From the moment she woke up, that damned daughter of Aphrodite kept telling her everything would be fine soon.

That she'd be able to walk again after rehab.

Rumi laughed humorlessly with each new word.

Her weapons were destroyed.

She broke her legs.

She lost sight in one eye.

She lost hearing in one ear.

She lost a hand.

She felt pain all over her body.

And that damned girl wanted her to calm down?

She was lucky Rumi couldn't move, honestly.

Rumi told her to shut up and told her she wouldn't do anything Mira asked.

She didn't need anyone to tell her how to feel about what had happened.

She knew how she felt.

She knew how much she hated the gods even more now. But she kept quiet. She closed her hand around her locket and silently thanked that it hadn't been destroyed that day.

She could forge another sword like Jinu's, but she could never lose that locket.

What really struck her was seeing Aphrodite's daughter come back to check on her every day, even though Rumi was rude to her at first.

Rumi felt bad for every rude response, regretting treating her badly.

Mira just wanted to help.

But Rumi couldn't help but feel angry.

She took her anger out on the wrong person.

Every visit from Mira ended with Rumi telling her to leave—asking her if Aphrodite's princess didn't have a spa day to attend.

She was being stupid. Rumi knew it. And she needed to stop.

Mira didn't deserve to be treated like that.

Rumi began choosing silence over being rude to others. No one was to blame for what happened to her. No one but Zeus. It was all the gods' fault, not her family's.

Mira was a good camper. She may never have left CHB since arriving, but Rumi remembered her participating in activities and helping with the strawberry harvest. She took care of their home too.

━━━━━━━━━━

.

.

Staying in that bed was horrible. Every night she had nightmares about all the people she lost. Every friend who didn't return from a mission. Jinu. Her mothers. Rumi couldn't sleep anymore.

Sometimes she cried until exhaustion consumed her. Maybe it would have been better if that lightning had killed her. But she didn't talk about it to anyone.

She forced smiles so as not to worry her half-siblings, promising them that she would walk again soon.

She wasn't so sure about that, though.

A son of Apollo had warned her that her injuries were too serious. And the pain Rumi was feeling made her aware that her life might never be the same again.

Mira continued to visit her every day. And at some point, Rumi found herself waiting for her.

It was strange to be around Mira; there was something about her that deeply enchanted Rumi. Her care, cleaning Rumi's wounds and keeping her company, made Rumi a mess.

Mira didn't flinch at the sight of her scars and wounds. She cared for them all, willing to be near Rumi, no matter if the daughter of Ares wanted her there or not.

And then Mira became a frequent figure in Rumi's life.

Mira made Rumi feel safe.

Rumi didn't mind being vulnerable around Mira.

She could blame her charm for making her so soft, but deep down, Rumi knew it wasn't about the charm.

Mira simply emanated a lightness and kindness that made Rumi want her always around.

Mira was with her when the casts were removed from Rumi's legs.

Mira stayed with her during her rehabilitation. Months of encouraging her, of helping her eat and continue living.

Rumi didn't know what she did to deserve Mira, but she was grateful she had appeared in her life.

Rumi's half-siblings began teasing her whenever Mira arrived at their cabin's door, and Mira had to admit that Rumi's pink cheeks were adorable.

They became inseparable. And Mira never stopped helping Rumi for a moment.

Rumi was falling in love for the first time in her life

She felt pathetic. She didn't know how to act around Mira anymore.

But she appreciated Mira. The way Mira cared for her made Rumi fall even deeper in love with her; she wanted to continue cherishing her forever.

Rumi would pick flowers and give them to Mira

Rumi would say the silliest things possible to make Mira smile. Rumi loved her for simply existing.

━━━━━━━━━━

The rehabilitation actually showed good results, and thanks to Mira, Rumi now had a new hand. She adapted to these changes. She learned to live this new life.

She was truly happy.

━━━━━━━━━━

Their first kiss was at the lake. They were training to help Rumi wield her sword better using her metal hand.

Later, they went into the water, started splashing water on each other's faces, and when Rumi hugged her, she rested her forehead against hers. And it just happened.

Now Rumi slept smiling and she would wake up every day with an even bigger smile on her face.

She was already so loved by all the campers, but since her good mood spread, everyone was happy for Rumi, and their fears about approaching her disappeared.

Rumi and Mira were just SO adorable together.

the next few months flew by. Rumi didn't even realize she was already turning 18. Maybe she had lived longer than expected for a demigod with so many years at the CHB, LOL. But she was grateful. and she was ready to try a real life out there. She wanted to invite Mira to live with her.

They could have a home together.

She could return to CHB during summers. It would be so cool. After 13 years there, she felt ready to live a normal life.

But Mira was called to lead a quest.

And suddenly Rumi remembered that their life couldn't be normal.

Mira had only been at CHB for five years. She was a great camper. She knew how to fight. But Rumi couldn't stop worrying. Imagining a life without Mira hurt too much. She couldn't bear to lose her too. Not Mira. Not to a damned quest.

Rumi couldn't let anything happen to Mira.

And of all the times Rumi saw someone leave her, that was the one that hurt the most. Mira didn't want her anymore. Mira was alive and survived the Cyclopes attack, but she didn't want her anymore.

Rumi ruined everything.

Rumi didn't trust Mira.

Rumi might not deserve happiness.

━━━━━━━━━━

Children were no longer welcomed by the head counselor of Cabin 5. Rumi had changed a lot since that quest.

So serious.

So quiet.

So angry.

Rude.

A broken soul. after everything that had happened to her.

Now Rumi knew that she would never have or deserve happiness.

[charminhearts]

Zoey carefully removed the bandages. She started with the one covering the new bite on her neck, then removed the small band-aids from her hand, and then frowned, utterly confused.

She turned her hand once, then again, then once more. Perhaps testing whether changing the angle from which she viewed her hand would make the bite marks reappear, but they didn’t. Her hand had only small scars, practically impossible to notice from afar, and Zoey only saw them better when she brought her hand close enough to her face to identify the faint marks. She blinked a few times, incredulous, and then jumped in place as the thought of one of Rumi’s powers manifesting in her occurred to her.

Fast regeneration.

Rumi never stayed injured for too long; whenever she burned or cut herself cooking, the wounds healed in a matter of minutes. Okay, it had been a good forty-eight hours since Mira’s bites, but Zoey still remembered perfectly well that there were wounds in that area when she put the bandages on the night before. It wasn’t possible that she had healed overnight, right?

Right?

Zoey went to the nearest mirror to face the bite mark on her neck, and as soon as she was face to face with her own reflection, all she saw was a completely healed bite mark.

She gulped, a little nervous, but also quite amazed.

Wow. Everything healed.

Mira had apologized several times since the moment they put bandages on the bite marks, and Zoey had assured her again and again that everything was just fine, but Mira kept apologizing anyway. Zoey tried to reassure her girl, but it didn’t help much. Maybe now that they were healed she could forgive herself for what happened—at least Zoey hoped she would.

Perhaps Zoey was a little apprehensive about the implications of the healing—since it most likely meant that being bitten on a full moon would bring a predictable surprise on the next cycle—but she was more concerned with showing the scars to reassure Mira at the moment.

However, as soon as she went back into the room to tell Mira the news, she was bombarded with a question that sent shivers down her spine.

“Zo… How many times have you and Rumi— How many times has Rumi, um— How many times did you take her knot?”

Zoey blinked a few times, a little taken aback by the question, but certainly worried now. Uh oh. Maybe Zoey had gotten too carried away in that full moon cycle, but she couldn’t even find a shred of regret in herself. She would do it all again and again exactly the same way simply because she loved them too much to deny how good it had been to spend that full moon with them.

“Um. Well—” Zoey scratched the back of her neck, actually trying to count how many times she’d taken that knot, but nothing really came to mind. Three times? More than five? She wasn’t sure. But oh boy, she could hardly wait for the next time they’d be together. “A lot? I dunno for sure. Gosh, it didn’t even hurt. You were kinda right, her pheromones helped a lot, but I certainly didn’t have any trouble to, uh— fit it.”

Mira blushed a deep red and blinked a few times.

Zoey’s cheeks flushed a faint pink, a little embarrassed by her own honesty, but not at all regretful.

“You smelled her pheromones,” Mira stated, hands going to her hair and pulling at strands as her desperation grew. “Oh my god, you and Rumi had sex on the full moon, the same full moon I bit you— Zo, please tell me you’re up to date with your contraceptives.”

“I mean, yes, like, I have an IUD. I don’t take any pills though. Do you think human contraceptives work with Rumi? I mean… she’s a werewolf.”

Mira froze in place. Neither of them could really think of anything other than a pregnancy possibly happening even before their To-kki was born, and Zoey remembered well how quickly Mira’s belly had grown. One look in the direction of that baby bump was enough to be sure it was even bigger since the full moon two days ago.

Their baby had developed six months in a mere three months, and Zoey genuinely didn’t know what to think if she ended up pregnant at the same time as Mira, especially since their relationship was so recent.

Welp.

Blame on Zoey for spreading her legs for her wolf without thinking properly about the consequences after asking her to cum inside. But what could she do?! Rumi just messed with her too much for Zoey to care about anything other than milk her dry.

“We don’t have much to do right now, babes.” Zoey scratched the back of her neck, then moved a little closer to Mira to try and reassure her. “Try not to stress about it, okay? We’ll be fine. Maybe my IUD will actually work, maybe we’ll have another pup. Whatever happens, we’ll be fine, okay?”

Mira didn’t seem ready to believe Zoey. She still looked like she was clearly overthinking, but Zoey continued to hug and reassure her until Mira began to find some peace despite the clear worry about the imminent problem. If Rumi hadn’t managed to get Zoey pregnant this time, either the IUD was effective even though their partner was a werewolf, or Rumi wasn’t as fertile outside of her rut cycle. And if the second option proved correct, Mira imagined they would end up with a litter of half-werewolf pups in their house by the next rut now that Rumi had two mates to breed.

God help them.

this is a deleted scene from chapter 19 of my Polytrix fanfic "come running home to you"

https://archiveofourown.org/works/74273021/chapters/193841191

[charminhearts]

“Why just one pup?” Rumi whimpered loudly.

Mira rolled her eyes, amused. She had anticipated that this would be quite common in her daily life, now that it was confirmed they were expecting a single baby.

Luckily, Yuna was already asleep, otherwise there would have been two big babies whimpering for Mira to hear.

“Are you really sure it’s just one? This ultrasound thing didn’t lie to you?” Rumi pouted, a huge, wobbly pout.

“Dear, it’s normal for humans to have only one baby, y’know?” Zoey smiled, understanding as always. She found it adorable how Rumi faithfully believed there were more pups in Mira’s belly.

“I already tried to explain, sunshine. She won’t understand this anytime soon,” Mira whispered softly so only Zoey could hear. Given Rumi’s distraction, not even her good hearing would register anything said by either Zoey or Mira at that moment.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Rumi mumbled exactly like an angry dog as she paced the room. “You’re so big, it can’t be just one.”

“Wow.” Mira’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Zoey wheezed.

“That’s really something to say to your pregnant wife, Rumi.”

Rumi swallowed hard upon seeing Mira visibly angry at what she’d said, though Rumi didn’t really understand the reason for so much irritation. It was a compliment! Rumi loved Mira’s baby bump, and she was getting more beautiful every day, her perfect mate.

“B-But! You are!” Rumi gestured rapidly as if that explained everything. “You have such a beautiful and big belly, and I thought there were more pups!”

Mira, though annoyed, understood why Rumi was so confused, so she simply put her own irritation aside to explain, “Human babies are born much bigger than you think, Rumi. You’ve seen pictures of Yuna when she was a newborn, luv. Our baby won’t be the same size as a werewolf pup, okay? My belly is normal. If there were more babies, it would be much bigger than this.”

“But— But—” Rumi continued stammering as she tried to say something, but nothing coherent came out.

Zoey couldn’t stop laughing; she tried to muffle the sounds with her hand so as not to annoy Mira or Rumi.

“But I tried so hard!”

Then Zoey couldn’t contain her laughter any longer.

Mira and Rumi turned to her with affectionate looks, and suddenly it didn’t matter what they had been arguing about before. Seeing Zoey truly laugh for the first time in days filled both their hearts with joy.

“She tried so hard, Mir.” Zoey placed her hands on her stomach, still laughing so hard that now only a hissing sound came out. “Oh my god, Rumi, you’re so sweet, dear. I love you. I’m sorry for laughing at you, but—”

Rumi didn’t care. If anything, she wanted Zoey to keep laughing.

“I really did. I spent my last rut breeding her.”

Zoey giggled a few times before stopping abruptly, eyes wide, mouth agape in surprise.

Then she remembered when Mira told her she was pregnant and all Zoey assumed was that Rumi was hiding her dick well with tape, maybe.

But she had showered with Rumi the day before.

She hadn’t stared much, she’d been a little shy since the moment Rumi accompanied her to the bathroom, but she would have noticed something the moment Rumi hugged her. If Zoey remembered correctly, all she felt was either a small dick or a big clit.

Rumi’s wolf form, on the other hand, had a very well-formed dick.

And if she had a rut—

Mira and Rumi—

Mira and Wolf Rumi—

“You—” Zoey’s eyes widened as she glanced from Mira to Rumi and then back to Mira. “She— The— The Wolf?!”

Mira blushed so deeply that her whole face turned incredibly red.

What a lovely way to start a conversation about their relationship, wasn’t it?

this is a deleted scene from chapter 16 of my Polytrix fanfic "come running home to you"

https://archiveofourown.org/works/74273021/chapters/193841191

[charminhearts]

“Mate, pup told me that the Easter Bunny will bring her chocolate tomorrow. Is that true?”

Mira blinked a few times to make sure she had heard everything correctly, but judging by Rumi’s innocent and sincere look, she could only believe that every word was very honest.

Zoey giggled at hearing such a lovely question; of course her puppy would believe in the Easter Bunny. So cute. She was busy reviewing her students’ tests and assignments, so she just continued working silently while listening to her sweet puppy talking to their Mira.

Yuna had been talking about Easter for days, it was one of her favorite holidays solely because she gets to eat lots of chocolate, and Mira strived to maintain family traditions even though her princess was already grown up.

Mira was aware that Yuna knew that the Easter Bunny was actually her Eomma. The child was old enough to understand that Mira worked hard to make her childhood magical every holiday, but she still played along with Mira simply because she loved those little moments with her Eomma.

That Easter, however, they had Rumi with them.

And apparently Yuna had told Rumi everything about Easter and the Easter Bunny—omitting the part that it doesn’t really exist.

So Rumi was staring at Mira with big, bright eyes, waiting for an answer on that ordinary Saturday night.

“Hun’... Um. Yeah. Yuna is getting chocolate eggs tomorrow, but—”

“Do I get a chocolate egg too?” She smiled, showing fangs as bright as her eyes.

“Luv, you know you can’t eat chocolate. I’ve already explained it to you. Chocolate can make you seriously ill and maybe even kill you—”

“Someone should have warned the werewolf hunters about that—”

“Rumi. I’m serious.” Rumi maintained her sheepish smile, but paid attention to everything Mira said next. “Chocolate isn’t good for you, luv. Canines can’t eat chocolate at all, and even if you’re not really like others wolves, I don’t want to find out firsthand if you’d end up being poisoned by chocolate or not, okay?”

Rumi’s expression fell, so sad, a pout growing larger on her lips, even trembling as she asked, “So the Easter Bunny won’t bring me chocolate?”

“Luv, the Easter Bunny doesn’t really exi—” Zoey put her hand over Mira’s mouth before she could finish speaking and ruin the Easter magic for Rumi.

She had recently discovered that Rumi was as innocent as a child when it came to holidays and traditions. She believed anything Yuna told her, even if that thing was as silly as the Easter Bunny.

“Of course he’ll bring you chocolate eggs, dear. I’m sure he’ll remember to bring a special one for canines because you’re such a good puppy.”

Rumi’s smile was bright and full of fangs again, and she went over to Zoey to lick her cheek and rub her nose against her neck.

While Rumi hugged her, Mira narrowed her eyes at Zoey, and Zoey simply blew her a kiss in response.

━━━━━━━━━━

Mira wasn’t mad at Zoey for long. They managed to distract Rumi and convinced her to sleep with Yuna so it would be easier for the Easter Bunny to bring their chocolate eggs to the right place—which led to another conversation about her not being able to hunt the Easter Bunny and needing to sleep properly on Yuna’s rug, without leaving the room. Then, instead of enjoying the night sleeping and resting, Zoey dragged Mira downstairs to prepare a chocolate egg recipe for dogs just to make Rumi happy.

Mira had molds at home because the previous year she and Yuna had enjoyed making Easter eggs at home, but Zoey had to leave the house to buy the ingredients and hopefully find some pretty packaging, or she would have to spend hours improvising with her coloring skills and decorating one at home.

It was a fun night for them, and Zoey didn’t even join Mira in bed after Rumi’s Easter egg was ready. Instead, she got up to make bunny footprints around the house using flour and drawing two cute little paws side by side using her fingers, imitating bunny steps, creating a path that went from Yuna’s bedroom door to the kitchen, and she was almost regretting that idea halfway up the stairs when Mira appeared at the top, tying her hair back and ready to join her.

“You better come to bed with me as soon as we finish this,” Mira whispered as she picked up some flour and spread it on the next flight of stairs.

Zoey gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and smiled. “I owe you like twelve hours of cuddles and kisses, I promise I’ll pamper you soon.”

“Um. You better.”

Zoey found it adorable how she still blushed as if they were still at the beginning of their relationship, so simply cute.

━━━━━━━━━━

Rumi woke up as soon as the sun rose and ran around the room looking for chocolate eggs or the scent of a rabbit, but found neither. She went to the bed and licked Yuna’s face until the little girl pushed her head away and murmured, “Mama, let me sleep.”

“But pup! It’s morning already! I want to know if the Easter Bunny brought our chocolates!” Rumi gently nudged Yuna’s body with her head, and the little girl groaned loudly and began rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“He probably left the chocolate eggs in the kitchen or the living room, Mama. You have to look for them.” Yuna was too sleepy to care about that at the moment; she knew perfectly well that her Eomma would leave the chocolate eggs downstairs, so she tried to guide Rumi’s attention elsewhere, but she realized that Rumi wouldn’t leave without her when she opened one eye and saw her Mama with a wide grin staring at her right by her side. “Ugh. Fine. I’m coming.”

Rumi skipped around the room and went to the door when Yuna sat on the bed.

As soon as she opened the door, she was met with several rabbit footprints, and she jumped up in place and let out an euphoric shout, calling for Yuna and gesturing to the floor.

She carefully left the room so as not to step on the rabbit’s footprints and went to her room to call her mates and tell them that they were right and that the Easter Bunny had really appeared to Yuna. Yuna then took advantage of the distraction to lie back down on the bed and sleep for another five minutes.

It wasn’t the time for anyone to wake up on a Sunday, seriously. If she’d known her mother would do this, she wouldn’t have even mentioned Easter, but now the damage was done and she wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore.

Maybe she could nap in the afternoon after lunch and some good pieces of chocolate, though.

At that moment, Rumi didn’t let anyone in the house sleep as she kept shouting and jumping, pointing out all the places she found bunny footprints while running around the house until she found the Easter egg made especially for her.

“Why can Mama eat chocolate before breakfast and I can’t?” a sleepy Yuna asked her sleepy mothers as the three of them watched a purple puppy lying on the floor wagging her tail while eating her Easter egg.

“Are you a werewolf?” Mira asked, too sleepy to think of anything else.

“Fine. Got it.” Yuna rested her head on Mira’s shoulder and closed her eyes; all she wanted was to doze off a little longer.

They were on the couch, Zoey almost snoring against the cushions, Mira had one eye open and the other closed, so simply exhausted after that hectic night that she just wanted to sleep for the rest of the day, but Rumi wouldn’t allow it, of course.

But she was happy, so it was worth it.

this is bonus content from my Polytrix fanfic "come running home to you" !

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[charminhearts]

Mira placed an empty jar on the counter, the sign "swear jar" right in the center, but Rumi couldn't read, so she just stared at the jar with a question mark flashing above her head.

Right next to the jar, Mira placed some bills along with some coins, and she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes as she looked at her wife.

Rumi had been swearing a lot in front of Yuna ever since she learned to use swear words, and Mira wanted to avoid it so that Rumi wouldn't end up talking like that even outside the house, or worse, inside the house when their nieces and nephews were visiting. Yuna is old enough to understand that she shouldn't swear, but the younger ones would probably repeat everything they would learn and say it in the middle of breakfast as if it were a good morning wish.

After Rumi stared at her in doubt for a long time since Mira had placed the money and the jar on the table, Mira uncrossed her arms and, pointing to the money first, began to explain.

"This is your allowance, and this is a swear jar. Every time you swear, you owe a coin to the swear jar. And every fucking time you tear your clothes to shift into a wolf, you owe a bill. Understood?" Mira may have added the second rule at that very instant when she remembered all the clothes Rumi had been destroying lately.

Rumi paused to think about the instructions her mate had given her, all quite clear to her, of course. She knew what swear words were and she knew what money was, so it was easy to fit the information into a little box in her mind.

"Understood?" Mira spoke again, a little more sharply this time.

"I— I understand!" Rumi stammered and bobbed her head up and down rapidly, always so frightened whenever her mate raised her voice an octave.

But Mira smiled at it the next instant, and that reassured her. "Good puppy."

Rumi bounced on her heels at the praise, but she paused to think about the rules again, and about what Mira had done. She ended up scratching her head remembering everything Mira had said.

Reluctantly, she called out to Mira. "Jagiya?"

"Yes?"

Rumi glanced around the kitchen, unsure if she should even say that or if the rules only applied to Rumi herself, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Maybe she would even earn more praises if she showed she understood the rules correctly, right?

She hesitated a little before whispering, "...You owe a coin to the swear jar."

Mira raised an eyebrow doubtfully as the silence settled between them, wondering why Rumi thought she should put a coin in the swear jar when Mira remembered she'd let slip a swear word while lecturing Rumi about not swearing.

Oh well.

She blushed as she reached into her pockets for a coin and found none, and Rumi subtly pushed one of her coins toward her mate on the counter while whispering, "Here, I'll lend you one."

"Okay. Thank you. Sorry for cursing." Mira put the coin inside the jar, still a little embarrassed by what she had done, but Rumi didn't seem to mind much at the moment.

Mira thought Rumi seemed to be enjoying the situation, actually.

/////////////////////////

Rumi was still thinking about the new rule when she went to Mira to clarify a doubt.

"Jagiya?"

"Yes, hun'?" Mira put down her book as she saw Rumi approach with the swear jar in hands and a confused look.

"If I swear while we're having sex, do I put the coin afterward or do I have to stop touching you to—?"

"Don't you fucking stop!"

Rumi paused for a moment to process the new information about the rule, assuming she should only put the new coins after sex.

But then she remembered that Mira had swore again.

And she opened the lid of the swear jar and extended one of her coins to Mira.

"...You have to put a coin again, jagiya."

Mira blushed as red as a tomato, her cheeks, ears, and nose completely red as she took the coin from Rumi's hand and threw it into the jar.

And if she threw her book at Rumi's head while she closed the jar with an amused smile on her lips, Rumi didn't say anything about it—she was busy laughing at her mate's antics.

this is a deleted scene from my Polytrix fanfic "come running home to you" !

https://archiveofourown.org/works/74273021/chapters/193841191