Child of Fear

Elijah Tustin|| 16|| Son of Phobos

[elijahtustin-blog]

Anyone care to explain what's going on?

[jack--lee]

I’m pretty sure we’re all asking the same questions as you are, Emma—Or at least thinking it.

[elijahtustin-blog]

So no one knows then? I wasn't even at camp and all this weird stuff happens...

[cecilia-baum]

Not Crazy For Once | Elijah&Cece

[cecilia-baum]

At first, Cecilia flinched at the touch. It was foreign to her. Not only had she not received the kindness he was giving her in quite some time, but she hadn’t quite realized that Elijah was a friend. She felt like a robot, like she couldn’t understand why someone would show another compassion. Who was she? A year ago, Cecilia was the kindest girl anyone had met, and now, now she couldn’t even understand kindness. Her emotions were just off, and with whatever switch she had turned off with the acceptance of her new powers, she had made herself a different person.

Gradually softening to the touch and allowing herself to be embraced, Cecilia lifted her head and shook. “No, it’s fine, I just didn’t think it’d be… hard.” She knit her brows and looked down at her hands. “I’m… stronger than that,” she muttered, half trying to convince herself. Accepting his comfort, Cecilia almost felt guilty. But she bit her lip and continued anyway. No use stopping now. “Um, there was chaos, as there always is around Daphne. Everyone was trying to find cover, Percy had Riptide, I remember that. She almost killed Lou. She took over Claire’s body so that no one could touch her. It was terrible. We couldn’t attack without hurting Claire, and she and Percy were dating at the time, it drew him crazy. Claire and I both hate ghosts now. Eventually I got her to leave Claire’s body, even though Jake was screaming at me not to negotiate with her. But all Daphne wanted was me, and as soon as I figured that out, I couldn’t let anyone else get hurt. She wouldn’t have killed me, she needed me to keep living. She took my body.” Cecilia shuddered. “B-But Lou managed to stop her. She got her out and I almost passed out, but thankfully Jake was there to catch me. I-I guess I realized he didn’t hate me after all. Lou started to trap her in this stone, it was magic and shit and it was going to seal her away but then Daphne desperately started blabbering about this secret she knew— that  Melinoe was raising an army. Lou trapped her before she could finish. Everyone was scared but eventually brushed it off. Except I couldn’t help but think she was right. Sure enough, that spring, Melinoe came full force with an army. Melinoe, that crazy ghost goddess.” She shrugged. “We beat her. It happened.” Cecilia turned to Elijah, trying to read his expression and trying to bring herself back to a normal emotional stability. She coughed, “So, um, that’s it, I guess. I’m not the greatest storyteller. Pretty boring, right?”

[elijahtustin-blog]

Elijah breathed a little easier as Cecilia allowed him to hug her. It made him feel a little less like he'd messed up by trying to comfort her. "You don't have to be," he told her gently. "It's okay be afraid and to find it hard. Bravery isn't a lack of fear and strength isn't a lack of difficulty. It's pushing through even when it's hard. You are strong." He smiled at her and waited to see if she'd continue.

As Cecilia explained what happened, Elijah could picture it in his head. The chaos, the fear, the uncertainty. It was all very clear in his head, helped by the fear that he could feel Cecilia was still experiencing. He kept his expression clear, trying to keep it comforting. He wasn't very good at comfort. He just simply wasn't experienced in it. "No, not boring at all. You've been through a lot. You are strong, Cece." He silently flinched as he called her Cece. Should he have stuck to her full name? He didn't know how that sort of things worked with kids his age.

[elijahtustin-blog]

Anyone care to explain what's going on?

I'm meant to be at home.

[cecilia-baum]

I dunno what you’re talking about, I see no difference.

Are you sure?

[elijahtustin-blog]

Aria... I'm positive. Besides, it feels different. Different fears around here.

No, I slept walked to camp or I've got amnesia. Yes, I'm sure.

[cecilia-baum]

Emma! Hey, hi, Emma! Going on? Nothing. At all.

[elijahtustin-blog]

Then why does camp look weird? And why am I at camp? Two minutes ago I was back home.

[cecilia-baum]

Just make it back to your cabin, Aria.

Oh, gods, is that someone I know? Run, run, ru— Camp is normal, I swear!

[elijahtustin-blog]

Aria? What's going on?

[cecilia-baum]

One job.

[elijahtustin-blog]

Oh, right. I forget that Phobos is a god some people know about. Hardly anyone knows who he is or what that would mean for me.

[cecilia-baum]

So is it hard to adjust to? Being a Phobos kid?

[elijahtustin-blog]

I never really had to adjust. My mum never hid it from me.

[cecilia-baum]

One job.

[cecilia-baum]

I mean, you’re a Phobos kid. I know my mythology. If you have powers, they’ve gotta have something to do with fear, right?

[elijahtustin-blog]

Oh, right. I forget that Phobos is a god some people know about. Hardly anyone knows who he is or what that would mean for me.

[cecilia-baum]

Not Crazy For Once | Elijah&Cece

[cecilia-baum]

Sighing once more, she ran a hand through her hair and tried to find a good place to start. “So last year’s ball was the same this year’s in theory. I mean, there were pretty dresses and masks and anonymous dates and all that. I almost didn’t go, but my idiot self found Marie anyway and asked her to put my name on the list. I wasn’t really in the best mood at the time, I was kind of in a huge fight with my best friend at the time—” Her voice caught in her throat, and that bothered her. She should have been made of sterner stuff, enough to be able to tell a damn story. Forcing herself, she swallowed and continued. “My best friend, Jake. He and I were fighting at the time. Lucky for us, Marie thought she was hilarious and ended up pairing us up together,” Cecilia mumbled bitterly. “The beginning of the ball was fine, it was pretty normal. Silly old teenager stuff. But then shit hit the fan.”

Taking another breath, she crossed her legs and bit her lip. “Okay, so I kinda need to give you more back-story. I have this older sister— not Lauren or Lou. Her name is— was— is Daphne. Back during my first year here at Half-Blood, we had the Titan War and Daphne decided that she wanted to be on Kronos’ side. A friend of ours, Sidney of Apollo, ended up killing her, but Daphne had cast a spell on my sister Lou. It’s this really weird prophecy-type thing, a spell that was crafted by and for Hecate children. You know how like Voldemort put a part of his soul in Harry so that he could never die? Daphne did sort of the same thing to Lou. Because Lou was sixteen at the time— the coming of age for Hecate children— Daphne was able to inhabit her body and she terrorized us like that about twice during that summer, trying to steal all of our powers and get her life back. Eventually Jane, daughter of Meilnoe who is the goddess of ghosts— you might want to remember that name— got rid of her using her ghost-y powers. I was fifteen at the time and after the mess had finished, Lou turned seventeen and was free of the curse or whatever. Then in December, right before the ball, I had my sixteenth birthday and you can imagine how that might be a problem.”

Cecilia wore a tight and dry smile. She had managed to get through a lot of her story, but it was starting to get harder. Merely trying to shake it off, she took another breath and continued. “For reasons that I wont get into right now, because it’s actually another long and far-fetched story, I had no idea about how any part of this curse worked nor did I know what had gone on in camp for a solid five weeks.” Damn, her life was weird. “Anyway, at the ball, when I was finally sixteen, Daphne somehow managed to escape from the entrapment Jane put her in and started raising hell at the dance. It was chaotic and I didn’t know what was going on and let me just point out that I had been terrified of her very name since that summer. I remember Percy was trying to fight her off, and Lou and Jake were desperately trying to get me out of there and I didn’t know why and I kept trying to stay and help and I—”

She cut off to take a breath of much needed air. Cecilia hadn’t even noticed that her hand was furiously shaking and quickly balled it into a fist to make it stop. She felt drained almost, having had to recall that night, and hell, she hadn’t even finished. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, placing her face in her hands. “I’m sure this is more than you asked for.”

[elijahtustin-blog]

Elijah listened quietly, nodding along and keeping track of all the names and stories. He was genuinely concerned for Cecilia. He couldn't imagine having someone trying to posses him, much less a sibling of his. Daphne sounded crazy and definitely not someone that Elijah would want to tangle with. He had a feeling that if he'd ever met her, he probably would've seen the Grim Reaper standing over her. It sounded a lot like dying terrified her. As a result, she'd terrified a camp. 

He put his hand on Cecilia's balled up fist, trying to comfort her. As she placed her head in her hands, he moved closer and cautiously wrapped his arm around her. "Hey, it's okay. Don't apologise. I don't mind listening. I like hearing other people's stories." He paused, realising that could be taken the wrong way. "I didn't mean your story was a fun one, sorry, just... I like listening to other people tell their stories." Elijah sighed, feeling unable to dig himself out of that hole. He began to rub small circles on Cecilia's back. "Do you want to keep going?"

[daughterof-eros-deactivated2016]

Hey, my presence is a blessing, thank you very much. It was just something to do with being alone for like… ever. Probably a normal stupid fear that comes with being a child of the love god.

[elijahtustin-blog]

Sorry, that was rude. I don't know, I haven't met many Eros or Aphrodite kids. All the kids at my school were mortals.

[cecilia-baum]

One job.

[cecilia-baum]

What, your fear abilities? No one told me anything, you don’t have to worry.

Hey, are you okay?

[elijahtustin-blog]

I'm fine, I'm just confused. If no one told you anything, how did you know about them?

[cecilia-baum]

Not Crazy For Once | Elijah&Cece

[cecilia-baum]

"That sounds… nice of her. I mean, like she was trying to do you some good and I’mg glad that this camp is better for you. That what we’re supposed to be," she shrugged with half a smile. "A ‘sanctuary for demigods’ and all that jazz." Unlike what she assumed most other thought, Cecilia never minded hearing about Elijah’s powers. They fascinated her. At first, she was drawn to the sort of power one could wield with that, but now she seemed to care a little more about how they affected the person who held them. "She’s been on leave with her dad for a while, maybe you’ll meet her soon." Cecilia very much wanted to tell him that it was a normal ball and that nothing weird had happened, because maybe then she could make herself seem like a normal kid. But she had long since accepted that she was by no means normal, and she would just have to deal. "It’s kind of a long, far-fetched story," she started, thinking about the witch, the goddess, and the best friend. Maybe she could make a living off of turning her life into novels. That had to pay well, right?

[elijahtustin-blog]

"I suppose. I wasn't unhappy before though." Elijah shrugged. "But, I think I might be happier here. It's nice to have friends for once." Elijah looked down at his sketch pad and then back up at Cecilia. Something about her made him feel more comfortable than he normally did around other people. She didn't seem afraid of him or his powers. "Visiting her dad? Nice change from camp, I suppose. Aren't most campers only here for the summer anyway? That's what I've heard." A question formed in Elijah's head, but it seemed too personal to ask. Why was Cecilia a year round camper? "I like long far-fetched stories," he told her. "Would you tell me your story?" He smiled at her. For just a second, he was tempted to reach out to her, to try and comfort her with a touch. But nerves made him hesitate just as he moved his hand. 

[cecilia-baum]

One job.

[cecilia-baum]

J-Just some kids, I dunno. Hey, hey, it was just you know, your name and who you were, it wasn’t anything bad.

[elijahtustin-blog]

Are you sure? Look, if they told you about my abilities, I made a mistake. I didn't mean it. I'm still getting used to everything. Violence here makes it hard.

[cecilia-baum]

One job.

[cecilia-baum]

Puppy-dog eyes also don’t work on the great Mr. D… O-Oh nothing! I’ve heard about you, is all. 

I don’t really know her know her. Also just heard about her, but I haven’t got the greatest picture of her just yet.

[elijahtustin-blog]

Heard about me? From who? What did they tell you?

[cecilia-baum]

One job.

[cecilia-baum]

Yeah, Mr. D. If it helps to know, he’s barely any nicer to his own kids. Phobos, of course! That was it!

Wait.. really? Cool. Haha, I bet she’s super nice.

[elijahtustin-blog]

Oh, well, that is good to... Hang on. What do you mean 'that was it'?

Uh, yeah. Why, do you know her? She is.

[cecilia-baum]

Not Crazy For Once | Elijah&Cece

[cecilia-baum]

"You remind me of me when I first got here," she chuckled. "I mean, I used to hate talking to people, I was way too shy. So all I ever really did was come out here and draw. Sometimes it was the fields, sometimes it was people— Katie Gardner caught me drawing her once, but she was super nice about it. She loved it." Cecilia smiled, recalling the look on the Demeter girl’s face. Katie was truly a sweetheart, no matter how many times she ended up picking on her. She tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced at Elijah. This guy was sweet, she’d realized, and Cecilia was happy that she’d actually made a friend— something she hadn’t been able to do in a very long time. "Good. I’m glad," she replied then stretched out her legs in front of her. She heard the question, and without going through any mental filter, Cece blurted, "Not almost dying was my favorite part," then promptly shut her mouth. Way to look like a weirdo, she thought. "I just mean… Not like last year’s ball. This one was less hazardous," she tried to save, but there was probably no way around looking like a fool.

[elijahtustin-blog]

"My mum actually sent me here because she thought I was too anti-social. She wanted me to get more... involved with kids my age," Elijah admitted. "It's easier being around demi-gods than mortals. Mortals seem to have their fears be... easier to see." Elijah smiled awkwardly. Way to go, he thought. Bring up the fact that you can see fear. Not weird at all. "Katie? I don't think I've met her yet," he said, trying to save the conversation. It was a relief when Cecilia went on to answer his question, even if the answer was different to what he was expecting. "Well," he said, seeing that Cecilia seemed uncomfortable at her answer, "not almost dying is always a plus. Tell me about last year's ball."

[cecilia-baum]

One job.

[cecilia-baum]

Nope. None that aren’t half-siblings. Um, I’m a Dionysus kid. You?

Well, that’s actually pretty interesting. Is making friends here hard?

[elijahtustin-blog]

Oh, okay. Oh, so Mr D's your dad? My dad's Phobos, god of fear.

Hard for me, but I've never been much good at it. Though I think I've finally made friends with this girl called Cecilia.