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Crystalline Melodies I: Undying Strains

[PRESENT] I, The Derelict Vagrant

RECOMMENDED SONG ACCOMPANIMENT: "Lady Day" by Lifehouse
SONG LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVLuFvDsDC0
Hermes cabin. I still can't get over what a strange name choice that is. I'm almost afraid to ask about the other cabin names. Well, whatever. I really just need to eat. I hope this place has better food than the slop we were offered at the last "camp" I attended.

I toss my bags into a corner and head for the door. Then I stop. I turn around and glance over the cabin. The place is fairly messy, and seems to be pretty well packed with occupants (based solely on their alleged belongings: everyone is still at dinner.)

'Hermes,' I think. 'He was the messenger of the gods…but he was also the god of thieves.' If there is one thing I hate more than hunger, it's the idea of my stuff being ransacked and stolen. I run over, grab the bags, dash out of the house, and stuff them underneath the porch, obscured from view. I don't know what it is that makes me do this, but I just have a sort of hunch…

Taking one last good look at the very, very strange plethora of cabins, I begin back down the trail I came from.

The walk gives me some time to think: something I have not done in a long time. Well, I'm always thinking, yeah. But I mean really think. Mull. Contemplate. Whatever.

'What will this place be like?' I wonder. 'Will it be anything like how I remember life before? Will it be better? Worse?'I really have no idea what to expect. I was born into this country, but in actuality, I was not raised in it. 'I hope that does not permanently affect anything.'

I'm not given a whole lot of time for my "contemplating", as the walk from the cabins to the mess hall is relatively short. I stand several feet from the entrance and do a slow 360 turn, soaking up the last of outdoors. I hate being inside. It makes me feel sort of claustrophobic. It just reminds me of…of…

'Don't think about that.' I reprimand myself, shaking my head. 'You came here to leave all that behind. So leave it. Get in there. Get used to it. Because you're going to have to do a lot more of that before you can really and officially put the past behind you.'

I inhale deeply before pushing open the mess hall door. The sudden blast of sound, color, and movement nearly overwhelms me. I blink several times before stepping inside.

If this were a movie or a comic book, it probably would be about now that the fanfares would go off, the drums would roll, and all would fall silent as the whole room turned to look at me. The "main character" -- though if you really think about it, everyone is the main character of their own life story, so no one can truly be the main character. But this isn't either of those. I'm not some huge, important person who has such a commanding presence that no one dares defy or reject me. I'm just another battered looking camper, coming in for a serving of sub-decent quality food.

I scan the cafeteria, searching the room for an indication as to what to do next. 'How's it set up here? What do I do to get--?'

The next thing I know, the Nicole girl is running up to me, a look in her eyes that for the first time I am unable to decipher instantly.

Fury? No, it's not intense enough. Fright? No, her body language is contradictory of that.
I walk up to meet her, deciding that no amount of analyzing will tell me what's going on, and I don't have enough energy to muster out any sort of reading. I guess good ol' conversation will have to suffice.

"Krys!" She calls. "What...what are you...why are..." she can't seem to get the sentence out. Only then do I notice that half the cafeteria is in fact staring at me. My mind blanks.

"What?" I finally get out, thinking about how flawless of a "new start" this seems to be turning into. All I get in response are a few poorly stifled snickers from the direction of over Nicole's shoulder.

We stare at each other for a moment, me waiting for her to explain, she silently begging me not to make her. When the sniggering becomes louder, she sighs. Then I am finally able to identify her expression.

Embarrassment.

I continue to eye her down. And then she speaks.

"Do you want me to…to get someone to help you clean up?"

I look down at myself and for the first time actually realize how disgusting I must appear. My shirt is spattered with hellhound entrails -- a splotchy mix of black, gold, and red -- while it's also missing one sleeve. My jeans are torn and muddy, my jacket is tattered and filthy, and my knees and elbows are caked in dried blood. No wonder I'm drawing so many stares and laughs.

So much for inconspicuous.

"No," I say, forcing myself to stay calm despite the aggravating pity I sense from Nicole. "No, I want you." I grab her wrist and pull her towards the door. She's so far the only person I trust not to laugh at me the first chance she gets.

"No, wait!" She yelps. "Don't you think a...a boy would be better?"

"Aw, Nicole and her new boyfriend are gonna go make out in her cabin! How cute." A male voice calls out from the crowd. Half the cafeteria erupts in laughter.

Nicole's face reddens noticeably, and I hiss in irritation, but continue to pull her out of the mess hall. When we finally reach the doors that I seriously don't remember being so damn far away, I push them open and slog off towards the cabin area, not checking to see if Nicole is following.

After a minute, I hear the patter of quick footsteps behind me. Nicole runs in front of me, looking pretty angry.

"What was that for?!" She shouts.

"What are you meaning?" I say, too frustrated to focus on correct word choice. "I am not the one who laughed."

"I kind of assumed you'd know to clean up a little before coming to a dinner with 200 people." She throws up her hands in exasperation.

I shake my head. Back where I come from, how I look would be nothing out of the ordinary. I have a feeling that fitting in here is going to be a lot harder than I thought.

"Fine," I say. "Go back if you want. I can take care of myself."

Nicole looks a bit conflicted, then sighs. "No. I'll help." She smiles. "I'll take you to my cabin. Hermes cabin's less likely to have good clothes choices. Besides, it's messy enough in there as-is without adding those filthy things into the mix."

She makes a face of exaggerated disgust as she pokes at my jacket. I wrap it tighter around myself, fantasizing over the idea of new clothes. I usually only have two sets of clothes at a time, and only get new ones once a year. This will be a treat.

We walk on in silence for the remainder of the trip to the cabin area. I don't know which cabin I was expecting her to walk into, but it certainly wasn't the big one with the Greek columns. I pause on the steps before following her inside.

The interior stops me in my tracks. It looks like a miniaturized version of the Parthenon museum Mom took me to when I was little. The furniture…I guess it'll suffice to say there's not a lot of it. The whole thing feels pristine, almost. It even smells untouched. It seems impractical. I'd think function would be the primary goal of whoever the founders were, but that was apparently pushed to the backburner, come construction time.

"Don't look so mind-boggled," Nicole's voice breaks through my thoughts. "It's not that spectacular."

I shake my head and look around for a place to sit. I'm almost afraid to drop my jacket on the spotless floors, and God forbid I sit on the bedspreads of perfection.

Nicole rushes over to one of the bunks, reaches under it, and comes back a few moments later with a very big t-shirt and some way-larger-than-normal jeans. And that's when it hits me.

'She thinks I'm a guy!' I barely manage to stifle a burst of laughter. 'How did I not realize that? She wanted to have a guy help me out, and the others referred to me as her boyfriend…ugh, I am such an idiot sometimes.' I guess this is just another indication of my extreme social ineptitude. 'At least my terrible attempt at disguise worked. Somehow.'

"These are some of Jason's. They'll probably be too big, but it's all we've got right now."
I gingerly take the clothes and look around. "Where…?"

"Oh! The bathroom's just over that way." Nicole points out the door. I jog out and over to the latrine-esque area I assume is the bathroom. Charming.

Now comes the dilemma. Men's or women's room? Keep up the pretense and risk an awkward confrontation? Yup. Definitely not the worst crossroads I've come to. I walk into the men's room -- luckily empty -- and close the door behind me. I nearly leap out of my skin at what's waiting in the mirror. I'm not even going to bother with the old "I move, it moves" cliché: I know it's me.

'No wonder I got laughed out of there,' I think. 'I look like a dumpster-diver just out of a mud-and-blood bath.' And I do. Even my hair is…no, I'm not even going to try to describe it.

I turn away from the mirror and walk into one of the stalls. I start getting changed, careful to avoid re-injuring my ribs. The pants are too long, but I'll live. The shirt is luckily large enough to keep my femininity from being blatantly obvious, and the uncomfortably tight cloth strip certainly helps. I use the sink to wash the gunk off of my jacket and put it on for good measure. I then walk out of the bathroom and dash back into the horrifyingly fancy living area of Nicole's cabin. 'This place is like a mini-mansion,' I scoff.

"What?" Nicole asks, sitting up in one of the beds -- hers, I assume.

"Nothing," I say. "Thank you. I will return these when I have the chance to make my own."

She chokes. "Wh--wait, make your own? You mean that's all you…?"

I nod.

She shakes her head. "You don't need…don't worry about it. I'm sure Chiron can throw together a wardrobe for you. No need to go all wilderness survival. Yet."

I raise an eyebrow at the "yet", but decide not to push it. "Again…thanks." As I head for the doors, Nicole stops me.

"Wait!" She calls, running over with a bag. She hands it to me. "Since you didn't really get any dinner, I thought you might…might want something small, at least." She smiles sheepishly as I take the bag. I'm not exactly sure how to react, so I decide to go for a quick-and-simple reading. She seems to be hoping for this to be a "friendship-bonding" moment, so I decide to act accordingly.

I flash her my best attempt at a warm smile and put on a grateful face before turning around and heading out. "Maybe you can give me that tour tomorrow or something." I say over my shoulder. I can almost feel her relieved grin from behind me.

"Definitely!" She says. "Good night!"

Once out of earshot, I let out a burst of bitter laughter. 'Nope.' I shake my head violently. 'Epic fail. Definitely not doing that again.'

I run back up to Cabin 11 and grab my bags out from under the porch before bounding up the steps and right into someone coming out. A fairly big guy with dark hair and brown eyes.

"Whoa! Sorry. Didn't see you there. You alright?"

"Yeah," I mutter. I push past him and into the cabin, ignoring the slightly bewildered expression on his face. I really don't feel like dealing with anyone else right now. I toss my stuff onto one of the seemingly unclaimed beds and plop down onto it. I lean against the headboard, uncapping a water bottle from my bag and raise it to my lips. The clear, revitalizing liquid trickles down my throat, and I feel some of my tension disappear with it.

I open my eyes and start to see a boy not inches from my face. Two of them, in fact. Obviously twins.

"Look-y here!" one of them says, grinning coyly. "Seems we got ourselves a new guy."

"Hermes kid?" The other asked.

"I didn't hear about any claiming. I'm guessing undetermined."

Not sure how else to react, I simply sit there, listening, bemused at their banter.

"Silent, too." One of them says.

"Aw, man." The other throws up his hands in mock frustration. "I was really hoping we'd get someone with at least a decent sense of humor."

"I'm thinking Apollo kid." Declares the first, ignoring his comrade's remark.

"No. Probably…Demeter?"

"Connor, he looks nothing like a Demeter kid!"

"Dude, I think we're freaking him out."

"I could not agree more." I put my hands on their foreheads and push them back slowly, indicating my need for personal space.

"Athena kid, then? All formal speaking like that." The second smirks.

I glare at him, then take another swig from my water bottle. "Shoo."

He raises his hands in a show of innocence. Yeah, right. Just by the way he looks, the way he holds himself, his unconscious body language, I can already tell he's done his fair share of rule-breaking. "Fine! Excuse us for being friendly. C'mon, Travis. Let's go find more "sufferable" company."

As they walk out, I swear I hear them mutter something about Ares kids. With a growl, I bury my face in the pillow and let out a scream of anger. I'm not even sure what I'm angry at.

Those obviously extroverted twins? No. They didn't really do anything wrong.

Nicole? No. Yeah, I find extreme-niceness suspicious, but I didn't pick up anything malicious in the reading.

Me? Well…probably. I'm just so uptight, and I don't know how to wind down. I'm not sure I should. It's the only thing that's kept me alive this long -- being so alert constantly. It takes it out of me, but it's better than succumbing. Better than giving in. Giving up. I won't. I can't. I've come too far to do that now.

But I'm not sure that any of my previous training can prepare me for life in a place like this: in a place that's normal. And it's pretty sad that the thing I'm most afraid of now is fitting in. I just pray to whatever celestial being happens to exist and watch down over my unceasing torture that I might get a break, and that maybe in the end, it will all be worth it.

Notes

FINALLY DONE, UGH. A week's worth of slogging through it, only to crap this out. Ah well.
Well, I had to sort of force this one out. I don't know why, but lately, I've been dealing with a lot of block, so I apologize for the complete awkwardness of this chapter. The dialogue though...*facepalm*. I'll definitely go back and edit it later. Right now, I'm just handing you my first drafts. LITERAL first drafts (the second I type the last letter of the last word in the chapter, I copy it and paste it here, to the Underworld with editing.) I never normally hand people first drafts, so "consider yourselves lucky" to be privy to my horrid first ramblings. XD

Seriously, though, the urge to make the Stoll brothers go all tree/chute-speak on Krystal was insufferable (if you get my cross-fandom reference, I will love you forever.). They are SO Le-Metru!

In terms of the song choice, I absolutely LOVE this song. The further we get into the story, the more likely I will have some emotional/sentimental tie to the song. Lifehouse is one of the artists that got me into music, and this song to me just perfectly describes Krystal.

Her eyes like fire and ice
Her words sharper than a knife
Her hands are ever so cold
But her voice is like wine and roses
Yeah, she's both shadow and light
She's both surrender and fight
She wears her heart on her clothes
And her scars are always remembered


Just...well, yeah. Perfect.

If you liked this chapter, or have suggestions, please feel free to comment/like/share/[insert self promotions here]. Thanks so much! I can't believe I've got over 600 views already. And 29 votes! That ratio, tho! And I'm only six chapters in! *dies of excitement*

ALSO. As a side-note, my worst WORST fear is botching up canon character representation. I probably will. A lot. So if there's something blatantly contradictory you catch, PLEASE point it out to me so I can change it. I know next to nil about the Stoll brothers, and really just wrote this based on their freakin wiki profile. Yep. So smart of me, right? So yeah...thanks! =)

Comments

We've missed you!!

@theteenagefandom
Aww, that means a lot. <3 :) I've missed you guys!

Torissa Nikole Torissa Nikole
1/17/16

I would so buy your books if you got them published...not even kidding this is literally my favorite thing.

The story certainly held high expectations with the amazing cover art, the Summary also looked interesting! The thing that threw me off was all the characters. I have ADHD and it's hard for me to keep track of stuff, and sixteen characters just get jumbled around inside my head. ALSO, the updates are chopped up and not consistent, so when you do update the reader forgot where he/she left off and must re-read the entire thing. I'm not trying to be rude though, I love your writing, it's very intriguing and you have a good story line going. The thing is: you haven't updated in three months and that is a very long time BTW. Sorry for the rant, I actually love your story!
#SquirrelHugs
Constrictor Constrictor
7/20/15

@Lucas Fane
You can insult me if you like, but please DON'T insult readers. I appreciate all opinions, positive or negative, so it's fine for you to think it's bad. You're entitled to yours. But if you won't specify WHY you dislike it or give constructive criticism, then please keep your pessimism to yourself, especially if you are going to pick at my friends.
Also, you failed to spell "shittiest" and "slut" correctly. If you're going to criticize, please do it properly.

Torissa Nikole Torissa Nikole
4/22/15