"Your brother, former brother, actually, is back from the dead. A bit of a crazy start to a letter, but read it again carefully if you need to."
"He doesn't remember much, nothing at all to put it easier. So far, all we've told him was what he needed to know, what he used to be like, and what he should stand against. The category that we haven't touched yet, that would be the one involving you."
"It's not my place to say something; it's not Luke's, not Coco's, and not Lettie's. It's yours because it's about you, and no one knows themselves better than oneself. Therefore, please go into the forest and continue going straight ahead until you spot something bright right ahead. That brightness would be me, a default effect from my father, Apollo."
"Alone, however, please come alone. No one knows we've gone against the rules that Hades and Thanatos set regarding necromancy."
[There are many things that's happened already to Chouma that make him wonder if it was always like this before he got... revived, I guess? He doesn't know, doesn't remember, and it confuses him profusely to the extent of a headache coming whenever he even tries. It bothers him, annoys him, annoyance reverting to anger afterwards with a huff leaving his lips.]
[The army on the ship seems to have a feeling of fear whenever they sense him coming, and whenever he walks past and they bend forward as a bow... he wants to know what he's done or said to make the place bend to his will despite his new appearance and behaviour. He needs to know; he's desperate for the answers, yet... he's also not? The descriptions he received as a warm-up to fill his mind did not sound pleasant.]
[It made his fingertips press against his lips, tasting the sour taste it all left in his mouth. It made his brows scrunch together in concern for the person he used to be; it made his chest burn with hate towards the ones that caused that. Especially towards the guy that saw it happen and did the bare minimum to fix it.]
"Dionysus," [Archer whispered to him when guiding him towards a spot in the forest, hand on the small of his back to ensure he doesn't go another way.] "Before this, your little brother used to be a son of Dionysus." [Used to be? That made him raise a brow and look down at the daughter of the sun deity, stopping once arriving.]
"Ethan or Man-Sik?"
"No, silly... Raven. Raven, who used to be from cabin 12 and now is a son of Hypnos."
[Chouma grunted when his headache flared up again while he was trying to understand the situation. He pinched his nose, eye twitching with his free hand gripping her shoulder. Archer, in response, patted his hand, looking at the watch around her wrist.] "He'll be here soon..."
@revivedsonofthevengefulgoddess
[this came out way too long mb bro]
(I feel like I'm reading the finest of literature omg)
Raven read the letter over and over again. Once, twice, three times. Chouma- Cole- His arrival was expected yet unexpected at once. Raven knew he was coming back, of course, he'd been told of it many times over months. That didn't make it any simpler, any easier. The thought that his brother, who he'd still barely finished grieving was back, was new. It was really, truly happening. It didn't feel real, like a fantasy he'd thought up time and time again.
He read the letter again, as if he was confirming that it was a real object he held in his hands. Part of him worried he was dreaming, a very realistic, (?) scary dream. He was analyzing it, trying to absorb every little detail as if that would prepare him for what's about to come. Who could prepare for something like this?
The letter was signed by Archer Penthia- Archer, Did he recognize that name? No, not at all... Coco, Coty, and Luke would probably know. He'd ask them.
Raven couldn't help but focus on the last part of the letter. "Come alone."
He didn't know why that stuck out to him. He's gone off alone into the forest more times than he could count. Perhaps it was the importance of the situation, and the fact that he enjoyed talking to his loved ones about things.
Part of him felt guilty. Guilty because he couldn't tell Damian specifically. His best friend since he'd arrived at camp, he had vivid memories of some beat-up, dirty kid with the biggest smile on his face welcoming Raven with a friendly (but much too aggressive) punch to the side. Of course he couldn't tell Damian, because not only were there so many rules being broken, but he would be livid.
The two were inseparable, everyone knew that, it was surface level knowledge. Not a single thing could tear them apart. Except for one.
Damian didn't know that Raven was in the battle of Manhattan, by Kronos' side. Damian didn't know that Raven was still on his side to this day. Damian didn't know about Cole being revived, and he didn't know about Raven's connection to Luke Castellan, due to multiple different people. Because he knew if Damian knew, they would never speak again, and if they did, it would be to fight. "So many lies," Raven thought, feeling a pang of guilt once again, "It's... a shame, to add more to the list."
But it's necessary. It was all for his own sake, "him" being both Raven and Damian. "Who could really blame me?"
He folded the letter and slipped it in his back pocket. Then, he walked over to his closet and grabbed a jacket. A familiar jacket that he hadn't yet fully grown into, with embroidered words all over it.
Walking out of the cabin, he started in the direction of the forest, going straight.
"Please go into the forest and continue going straight ahead until you spot something bright."
That's exactly what he did, walking through the forest for some time. He could hear his own heartbeat, owls, the rustling of leaves, the whispy sound of moving shadows. He could feel the shadows curl around his feet more than they usually would.
As he walked, he thought about what it would be like to see Cole again. Would he look different? Would he sound different? Would Raven still recognize him as the same brother who had been there through so much, and would Cole recognize Raven? Would Coco, Coty, Luke, and everyone else be there, or just the lady that sent the letter?
He sighed, leaves and twigs crunching under his feet as he walked. Then, he saw a light glowing in the distance. Considering how far away he was, it was faint but very much there, contrasting with the darkness. He followed the light, more careful this time, interested and nervous. Once he finally reached it, he stopped, his eyes wide.
(I apologize if this is pure nonsense I'm sick and have barely gained consciousness)
