Beauty in the eyes of the beholder

Derek O'Brians. Nineteen years old. Son of Aphrodite. Recovering.

[derek-sonoflove]

[derek-sonoflove]

How did this happen?

[piperscharmspeak]

-sobs- Y-you’re not going a-anywhere, Derek. You’ll be o-okay. You can’t leave me alone. P-please. Leo, g-go get Apollo or s-somebody!

[leothefirekid]

Derek! No, stay with us! *glances at Piper, eyes wide with fear, and he nods slowly, trying to lay Derek back down and climb to his feet* I can’t— Not after everything. I can’t lose you.

[derek-sonoflove]

*takes a deep breath* I'm sorry, Leo. You're my b-best friend. *chokes up, his eyes losing focus* S-Silena. I... *trails off, having slipped away* 

[derek-sonoflove]

How did this happen?

[piperscharmspeak]

Don’t you dare die on me, Derek, I will fucking kill you if you die! -kneels beside him, tears dripping down her cheeks-

[leothefirekid]

Derek, no! No nonononono, no. *gently takes Derek’s arm, pulling him up into his own arms, tears filling his eyes* No, you can’t— Not after all you’ve been through to get here, Der. Just hang in there alright? We’ll get you some help. 

[derek-sonoflove]

*Derek stares up at his friends sadly, though he can't remove the smile on his face* Being here... with you two, and others... it's made me the best person I could be. *inhales sharply and winces from the pain* Please don't remember me for what I did back then... okay? And... and take care of Hazel. 

[derek-sonoflove]

How did this happen?

[piperscharmspeak]

NO! -kills the rest of the monsters surrounding them in pure rage- Back the eff off! 

[leothefirekid]

*struggling to find his friends, burning enemies left and right, hitting others with a hammer; He sees Piper and Derek and rushes towards them, only to watch as Derek is stabbed; Leo screams* NO!

[derek-sonoflove]

*Derek falls to his knees, panting* L-Leo? *he looks up and falls onto his side, letting out a choked sob* Piper, Leo! 

[derek-sonoflove]

How did this happen?

[piperscharmspeak]

-kills monster after monster, her body working on instincts- 

[derek-sonoflove]

*sees a monster about to stab Piper from behind* Piper! *he jumps in and shoves her out of the way, pain erupting in his back as a dagger stabs him*

[derek-sonoflove]

How did this happen?

[piperscharmspeak]

I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. -holds her dagger at the ready- This thing is way too short…

[derek-sonoflove]

*nods, his own dagger feeling short* ... Now! *he starts stabbing the monsters, though keeps his eye on Piper, clearly protective*

[derek-sonoflove]

How did this happen?

[piperscharmspeak]

I think Freya ran off with Harmonia, but I haven’t seen mom anywhere. 

[derek-sonoflove]

I'm sure she's fine. *looks around and sees that they'd been surrounded by several monsters* Piper, stay by me. 

[derek-sonoflove]

How did this happen?

[piperscharmspeak]

Neither do I, Derek. Now we gotta defend our family and our home, before the bad guys crush everything and everyone. -flashes him a grin before taking down two enemies-

[derek-sonoflove]

Sounds like a plan. *smiles and stabs a monster in the eye* Have you seen mom around? Or Freya? I'm worried. 

[derek-sonoflove]

How did this happen?

*stabs a monster, allowing a few younger children of Aphrodite to escape; Derek watches them carefully, killing any monster that comes their way*

[piperscharmspeak]

-runs over to Derek, Katopris at the ready- Hey, bro! You need help over here?

[derek-sonoflove]

Maybe a little. *chuckles, smiling at his sister* I don’t know how this happened. It seems like an inside job… 

[piperscharmspeak]

-stabs a nearby monster- Inside job, yeah. There’s no way they could have gotten in by themselves.

[derek-sonoflove]

I don't believe this. *slashes at another monster, frowning*

[derek-sonoflove]

How did this happen?

*stabs a monster, allowing a few younger children of Aphrodite to escape; Derek watches them carefully, killing any monster that comes their way*

[piperscharmspeak]

-runs over to Derek, Katopris at the ready- Hey, bro! You need help over here?

[derek-sonoflove]

Maybe a little. *chuckles, smiling at his sister* I don't know how this happened. It seems like an inside job... 

[derek-sonoflove]

How did this happen?

*stabs a monster, allowing a few younger children of Aphrodite to escape; Derek watches them carefully, killing any monster that comes their way*

[christrodriguez]

Cabin 9.

[christrodriguez]

No one. I won’t touch anyone, I swear. -nods, holding his hands up- I could never. 

[derek-sonoflove]

Good. If she ever asks that of you… don’t. Find me. I’ll try to help in some way. 

[christrodriguez]

-nods quickly, turning a pale shade of green- Yeah. Yeah, thank you. 

[derek-sonoflove]

*nods* However, I'm going to walk away now. Bye.

[christrodriguez]

Cabin 9.

[christrodriguez]

No one. I won’t touch anyone, I swear. -nods, holding his hands up- I could never. 

[derek-sonoflove]

Good. If she ever asks that of you... don't. Find me. I'll try to help in some way. 

[christrodriguez]

Cabin 9.

[derek-sonoflove]

She threatening you? Others you care about? Yeah, she does that. Trust me. Sometimes there are ways around it.

[christrodriguez]

It’s not— It’s not like that. I’d call bullshit on anything she says normally, but… -stops himself, eyes closed- You can’t say anything. Swear it.

[derek-sonoflove]

*frowns* Then no hurting anyone. You hurt anyone, and that's it. Clear?  

[christrodriguez]

Cabin 9.

[christrodriguez]

-leans against the wall of the cabin, holding his stomach and looking as though he may vomit- What I have to.

[derek-sonoflove]

She threatening you? Others you care about? Yeah, she does that. Trust me. Sometimes there are ways around it.

[christrodriguez]

Cabin 9.

[christrodriguez]

-takes a breath, paling even more, sweating- I know that. 

[derek-sonoflove]

Then what are you doing? 

[christrodriguez]

Cabin 9.

[christrodriguez]

-squeezes his eyes shut, trembling as he tries not to speak- She w-wanted to know which c-cabin a potential a-ally was in. 

[derek-sonoflove]

*nods* Ah, I see. You know, working for Gaea is a huge mistake.