Daniel

Daniel knew the other two were riding on his abilities.

And it made him nervous, since they were eleven Daniel had been leading him and Joel but now there was someone else.

Daniel thought Joel would be a great leader if he weren’t so awkward. Daniel’s map changed and zoomed in out at will. Joel hung behind him and Rachel, visibly uncomfortable. They started to hike up a tall hill. “Hey, Rachel, can you take over for a second?” Daniel asked. Rachel snatched up the map.

“FINE!”

Daniel walked aside Joel: “Ease up a little.”

“But what if its just another trick?” Joel asked.

Daniel stopped and grabbed Joel shoulders; “If she was here to kill or trap us, she would have already, and do you think the smiths-man would be able to hold of on killing her for her blood.”

“Okay.” Joel wrapped his arms around Daniel.

“Lets go!” Daniel snatched back his map. Daniel and Rachel started to talk (not even argue), they both still seemed a little on edge, but it was an improvement. For a few hours they kept hiking, Rachel pulled water and sunscreen out of her satchel a little too late, but it was still nice. They all sat down on a large patch of gravel just on the brim of a forest. They had at this point traversed one and a half hills. Daniel stood back up stretching. “I’m gonna’ test out these arrows!” he said eagerly, Daniel pulled back a red arrow, when the string was pulled all the way back, the tip of the arrow lit up in flames, “goosebumps.” Daniel said with a wide smile. He let the arrow soar through the air and into the ground flames roared and twisted before snuffing out immediately: “NO! No more forest fires.” Rachel said leaning against the trees.

“GRRRRR!” something in the shadows of the trees growled. “SHE’S RIGHT YA’ KNOW!” a deep voice grumbled; it sounded like a middle-aged smoker. A large face appeared in one of the trees.

“EARL, I SWEAR STOP SCARING THE HUMANS!” a middle aged-smoker woman came. Another face appeared in another tree, the three tensed up and readied to fight.

“Relax!” the man-tree came; “We are nuthin’ like those other Ents!”

A branch extended from the two trees, the three stared in amazement. Daniel shook the branches: “He-eeee-y!”

“Theres’s wolves in here ya’ know! silver ones!”

“Magic wolves. Magic. Wolves.” Rachel gripped her axe tighter, Joel held his sword in front of him, Daniel pulled back a fire arrow.

“NO! NON-OF THOSE IN HERE!” The Ent slammed a branch into Daniel, roots broke through the gravel and grabbed Joel and Rachel. It pulled them through ground. Windy branches shot at Daniel, Daniel leapt away from the branches on the right (Earls?) and rolled under the other ones.

“DIANE!” the branches whipped down onto Daniel, and started to pull his feet into the ground, Daniel struck his dagger into the ground, Daniel side-stepped away from branches and ducked under more, they bent toward Daniel again but he twirled away, but they continued to shift after him, Daniel felt branches about to shoot out of the ground he spun around and willed his ring into shield form. “I’m so glad to have you back!” the branches whipped across the shield. The dagger cut off the branches in front of him, branches wrapped around his shield and forearm. More branches pulled his feet back into the ground, Daniel’s shield changed into the ring again. Daniel struggled his dagger being pulled away from him, he was now waist deep in gravel trying to move his legs, but they were being held still. “Y’know... “Daniel sunk his hands in the gravel; “...You really shouldn’t...try...to absorb... a demi-god...with...” Daniel urged the power through him. “EARTH POWERS INTO THE EARTH!!!” Daniel threw his hands out, the gravel shot into the air, Rachel and Joel shot out of the earth, their weapons cut them out of the branches. Daniel pulled back a fire arrow and let it soar. Fire spread across Earl, down his roots, up his trunk, across his branches and leaves. “EARL!!!” Diane screamed; Rachel’s axe cut through Dianes trunk. “I didn’t know you had earth magic.” Rachel stared into the forest in anticipation, she looked like at any second she would raise her axe again. “You think they were telling the truth about the silver wolves.” Joel asked.

The only way down the hill was through the forest. “I’m a son of Vivari, the forests aren’t exactly alien to me.” Daniel walked to the forest.

“What if there are more Ents?” Joel asked grabbing Daniel’s shoulder. Rachel’s hand lit up in flames, it immediately snuffed out; “don’t worry.” She said with a wicked smile.

The three started to walk into the forest mostly un-disturbed, there were a few branches snapping and scratches but apart from that they were safe. The taiga trees were dark and mysterious unlike the oak Ents. The sun was fleeing in the west, being pulled by Apollo the wolf. The hill was on its decline and every now and again they could catch a glimpse through the thick branches and see the other hill.

“We can’t hike up their at night.” Joel said.

“And we can’t sleep in this valley.” Rachel said agitated.

“And why is that?” Daniel asked still leading the way.

“We’ll be cornered, if monsters aren’t already here, we let a bunch free back in Jupiter’s belt. And I think your forgetting how much monsters there really are in the wild.”

“Not that much.” Joel said under his breath. Rachel halted and shot a scowl at him.

“I have been running around America since I was ten.” Joel said. “I think I know.” Daniel felt presences, heartbeats, fast, ready to pounce, baring teeth. “JOEL!” Daniel screamed firing an arrow into the dark not even knowing what kind it was. A wolf yelped jumping out of the shadows, it was silver and four feet tall, it fell to the ground with a green arrow in its paw, Poison! Daniel thought. The wolf stood up growling at the three, three more growls coming from all around them, wolves similar to the first creeping out of the trees. Fire roared at two of them, they disappeared. Joel walked into Daniel’s back, Daniel shot two poison arrows, the wolves dodged them, the two that disappeared coming back out of the shadows.

“How do we kill these things?” Joel asked.

“My silver.” Daniel said nervously tightening his grip around his dagger. He jumped forward at one of the wolves and slashed his dagger across its eye, it leaped at Daniel, he pierced the dagger through the heart of the wolf, ducking below it. The blood stunk of iron, it filled the air, and the wolf turned into a melting steaming heap of silver. Daniel jumped back his nose twitching from the smell. Suddenly another Silver wolf leapt at Joel, Joel side stepped away from Daniel and Rachel. Another wolf turned his back to Rachel cornering Joel. Rachels axe lit up into flames and smashed down into the back of the wolf, it yelped leaping at the tree, its back legs ripping open but healed immediately, it snarled jumping off the tree at Rachel, who dove out of the way. All three of them were now separated. Daniel could feel their heart beats but knew if he got any closer, he would lose his arm, he got lucky the first time. One of the wolves snarled viciously, drool fell onto the floor and its eyes told Daniel he was hungry.

Where we’re going, you will find food quickly. Daniel tried thinking to the wolf, he had used his power so much already, surely it was his to control. Though apparently the wolf called Daniel bluff and just seemed to get angry. You think it’s a great idea to hunt a child of Vivari? For a second the wolf seemed deterred, but it quickly went back to snarling, though a little unsure now.

Think of all the things Vivari will do to you! Daniel snarled. The wolf got angrier, the small slits where its eyes were, thinning. We’re on a quest to stop someone who wronged the gods greatly, what do you think Vivari would think of you stopping us from doing that? The wolves simultaneously growled unsurely. What does it matter? You are mine to control! The wolves all stopped they parted and gathered together, they all glanced at Daniel unsure of what to do.

With us you will all feast. Daniel thought to them, the wolves parted and ran into the forest, Daniel whistled for them to come back. Three wolves leaped back in front of Daniel.

“What the-! How the-!” Joel just stared in disbelief.

“Child of Vivari, remember.” Daniel said sarcastically. Daniel hopped onto the back of one of the wolves and it bolted, the trees became a blur, Daniel could feel its feet shift as it avoided trees, he could feel the back legs lifting into the air and bolting back off the ground.