How to be an Eris

Whereabouts- Who knows?

Meda

Where the hell am I now?

Looking around, I saw nothing but nature.

Tall tropical trees with some sort of reddish-brown fruit hanging from their branches. Bustling noises of small animals that hid from my presence. An annoying buzzing sound of a mosquito that has found its way to my neck, stinging me in the process.

My hand rose to my neck as I smashed it and rolled my eyes. Soon, the heat kicked in, and I let out a frustrated groan.

I took out my phone, no reception.

I started walking around, trying to figure out where I was, when I heard footsteps.

One thing I had never learned back at the Academi was how to sense other beings. I could sometimes sense their presence, but I couldn't sense who or what they were, like my peers.

Needless to say, the sound scared the hell out of me as the slow footsteps got closer.

Picking up my pace, I cursed under my breath.

I stuck my hand into my bag just in case I needed to defend myself.

More footsteps joined in, and pretty soon I heard them coming from all around me.

Play it strong, Meda, you are a goddess after all.

A figure jumped in front of me, making me squeal and jump back.

I quickly grabbed a dagger from my bag and hurled it at the figure.

"Damn, you're a nice shot!"

I blinked, standing before me was a beautiful young being. She had toffee brown skin and bright purple eyes. Her curly hair was tied in a tight high bun, she was a little taller than I, and her stance exuded power and confidence.

She smirked and walked towards me.

"What are you? You have no scent." She asked, her voice had an angelic tone to it.

I knew she wasn't alone.

Smells like an ambush…Lie…

"A witch," I said, crossing my arms.

She looked at me skeptically, her smirk growing wider and her eyes sparkling in amusement.

"Well, that would explain the lack of scent…"

I internally smirked.

She bought it…

"Too bad you're lying…"

My eyes widened, making her laugh.

"That's ok, I'll figure it out eventually."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What are you?"

She smiled.

"My name is, Jayde. You look a little lost," She said.

I knew how this scenario ended, either I was going to end up kidnapped or robbed. I knew this girl wasn't human and something told me her little crew that was remaining hidden wasn't either.

"I'm not," I said, raising my head up high.

"Ah… another lie! You're not very honest, are you?"

I stayed silent and gazed around, trying to figure out where her men were hiding.

"Well…that's fine, I guess, I was going to help you out, but seeing as you claim to be fine, I'll just go. Good luck!"

She started walking away.

I had an internal battle with myself, I wouldn't be able to use another teleportation apple for at least 2 hours, and I didn't want to remain stranded in the middle of this f*****g forest. On the other hand, this girl was a little creepy. When she looked at me, It was like she was peering into my soul, and I didn't like it.

She turned around and looked me straight in the eyes.

"By the way, I know you're planning on running to the left. I wouldn't recommend it."

She's insane.

I scoffed, this must be a trick. She wants me to run right and get caught by her men.

I ran to the left, and she ran after me.

"God dammit! I said don't go left! Why the hell wouldn't you listen to me?"

"Why the hell would I?" I yelled back.

I came to an abrupt halt as the sound of loud growls filled the air and about 8 tall figures stepped out in front of us.

"What the f**k are those?"

"Rogues…" she said dryly.

"Are they friendly?"

"Of course not, you i***t, why the hell do you think I tried to warn you?" She said, tossing me back my dagger, and grabbing two weapons she had strapped onto her waist, and brandishing them. They were too short to be considered swords, yet too long to be daggers.

"Oh, c'mon! First I get kidnapped, then this s**t!"

The so-called rogues smirked at us, and soon their regular-looking teeth turned into fangs, and their bodies started to grow fur; they still stood on two feet, yet their faces resembled those of wolves.

One ran towards us and before I could even react, Jayde jumped in front of me and kicked one in the face, then swung her weapon down, cutting it's face. The rogue howled in pain, and soon the other seven attacked, trying to outnumber us.

I watched as Jayde took them all on, skillfully swinging her sword, slicing into two of them, kicking them, and doing flips to dodge their attacks. She looked so cool.

"A little help here! s**t!" She yelled as one of them scratched her shoulder with their sharp claws.

I snapped back into reality and threw my dagger at it, and, with a loud whimper, it fell to the floor. It had landed on the back of its head, piercing its skull.

Jayde had successfully taken out three by then. I ran to the dead corpse and pulled my dagger out as the remaining four surrounded us.

Jayde placed her back to mine.

"Use your cunning and stun them!"

"I can't! I'm not in control of my powers, and there are too many!"

"Trust me! Just concentrate!"

I tried to calm down and concentrate, I used almost all of my energy to try to channel my cunning on all of them.

My eyes started burning, and soon my body levitated off the ground. A golden glow surrounded me, and I watched as a stream of light circled us. One by one, their eyes started glowing bright yellow.

The hell? It worked!

I spoke in a voice that was unfamiliar to me.

"Leave and never return again!"

I watched as they all turned away and ran into the woods.

My feet hit the ground, and I stood there in shock.

"Told you it would–w-work…" said Jayde, huffing between words.

I turned around to look at her. Her dark skin was pale, she was sweating with blood trickling down her arm. Before I could say anything else, she stumbled, and I caught her before she fell to the ground.

I scanned her wounds, three deep gashes on her shoulder.

“s**t…”

Laying her body gently on the ground I thought about what to do. I hadn’t packed any green apples with me, and I didn’t think this girl was a goddess, so she most definitely could die from blood loss anytime soon.

I stood up and paced around angrily, nibbling on my bottom lip.

This is all my f*****g fault! I can’t even repay her because she’s out cold, and I can’t cure her with dark magic!

A gust of black smoke appeared before me, making me stop and look up.

Just my f*****g luck…

“Oh, no you don’t! You can’t take her, Athan!”

Athan looked at me, eyes wide.

“What are you talking about, Meda?” he said calmly, raising an eyebrow.

I pointed to Jayde’s panting unconscious body.

He looked at her and then returned his gaze to mine.

“Why not?”

He’s right… Why? I had caused many deaths before, why did I want to save her? Why did I actually feel guilty and terrified?

“I don’t know, you just can’t!”

He smirked.

Prick…

“I don’t know, Meda. I need a little convincing… I mean, I could get in a LOT of trouble for ignoring the natural order of things…”

I glared at him.

“What do you want?”

“From you? Nothing. Besides, it's not like you to care about anyone but yourself. I must say, Meda, it’s not a good look for you.” He said smugly, amusement flashing in his eyes.

I nearly saw red as rage boiled up inside of me. It took everything I had to hold back the projectile word vomit in the back of my throat that was begging to come out.

Calm down Meda, we need his help.

“Cure her,” I asked…well, demanded.

He laughed and walked closer till he was only inches away. His blood-red gaze captured mine, making it hard to look away.

“And what if I don’t, Meda?” he whispered, his voice smooth, taunting.

“Trust me, I will make your life a living hell.”

“Your threats hold little weight on me, Meda. The most you could do is a mere annoyance I’m quite used to by now.”

I looked away, not sure how to respond. This was humiliating. Here I was begging a guy I hated to spare the life of a mortal I barely knew. Just another example of what happens when you go soft and show remorse. Every f*****g time I tried to show a little flash of humanity, I ended up humiliated.

I felt helpless, nearly on the verge of crying, but I’d be damned if I let this man see me shed a tear.

Athanasios shifted beside me.

“Fine, I’ll tell you what. I’ll help you out on one condition,” he said.

I turned to face him again, raising an eyebrow.

“What condition?”

“Ask me nicely.”

Not that… Anything but that.

My eyes shifted from Jayde’s body, to Athan’s mocking face.

She seemed so young, surely it would be a waste for her to die here. Plus, there was something about her, I couldn’t quite put my hand on it, but I felt some sort of attachment to her.

“P-Please…” I said through clenched teeth.

Athan smirked and walked over to her body, kneeling down and placing a hand over her shoulder.

A white light emitted from his hand, and her wounds started to slowly heal. Her breathing slowly calmed, and she let out a sigh of relief.

Athan stood up and walked back to me.

“There. She’ll live.”

I nodded at him, and he turned away.

“By the way, I wasn’t even here to pick up her soul; she was going to survive anyway. I’m here for them.” He said, pointing at the rogues.

My jaw nearly dropped on the floor.

The audacity…

I tried to keep my cool long enough so I could walk over to Jayde.

“I owe you…” I muttered, placing a finger on her head and watching as my symbol etched its way on her skin then slowly faded away.

I stood up and started walking away from both of them, trying to find my way out of the jungle.

I felt a presence following me, making me stop and turn around to nearly smack into Athan’s chest.

I glared up at him and turned back around before I did something stupid.

A warm hand wrapped around my arm and held me in place.

I turned around and looked down at my arm, then looked up and gave him a threatening look.

“What you can’t tell me you’re actually angry about that? It was a little joke.”

Joke?

“Screw you,” I said as I yanked my arm away from his grasp, then continued on my way.

An hour later, I was more lost than ever, and the little patience I never had was gone.

Fuck this forest!

I angrily yanked off my fanny pack and grabbed my bitten black apple and bit into it. I could only hope, this time, it took me to someplace that wasn’t a burning hell on earth, full of mosquitos, strange little girls, crazy rogue werewolves, and a stupid asshole of a deity.