OnexOne with Mystikmage

Keith sighed, "I can still drive, driving doesn't take a lot of muscle" He grumbled.
"Are you sure?" He asked, finding a road side motel that looked decent on the map.
"There's one up a head, looks alright, on the map. But it's up to you guys" He said, shaking his head and glancing out the window.

Sara sighed, listening to them talk, a small sigh escaoping her lips. She didn't care about them not including her in the conversation, she was to out of it to even speak right now. She let Leo's heart beat and fingers in her hair relaxe her, as much as she could right now. She was still shaking a bit, and the sound of breaking glass was stressing her out, a lot.

Aria rolled her eyes gently, shaking her head and sighing. The car sort of fell quiet then after Keith announced the road-side motel. Aria drummed her fingers lightly, dropping the car into second gear so she would have enough time to pull over and into the parking lot.

Both Leo and Keith were staring distantly out a window, and Sara was still looking stressed from earlier. Aria realized the sun was setting, and Leo was probably beyond exhausted. "I guess it couldn't hurt." Aria murmured, slowing down into first gear as the hotel got closer.

There was a sign out front, but unforunatly it was written in script, which Aria couldn't read to save her life. She looked things over as she pulled into the parking lot. It seemed alright...her anxiety hadn't risen any, so Aria took that as a good sign. There were a few stores rather down the road, all within walking distant.

Leo kissed Sara's head gently. "Come on, let's get a room." he told her quietly. There was no way that Leo was leaving her by herself tonight. Something was still upsetting her, something about the incident earlier...Leo was curious but at the same time, he didn't want to push the subject. Aria parcked the car and pulled out the keys. Leo tossed his quiver over his shoulder, giving Sara's shoulder a warm squeeze before slidding out of the car as well.

Keith sighed, sliding out of the car once they had parked. He knew he'd be staying with Aria, it made sense, Leo wouldn't want Sara to be 'alone' for lack of a better word. He sighed, watching Aria disappear to get room keys, he sighed, it was helpful having her along, considering they rarely had to pay for stuff, even if he did have money. He knew Sara did too, but she had paid for gas and food yesterday. He walked towards the rooms, knowing he needed a headstart compared to everyone else.

Sara sighed, nodding, she wasn't spending the night without Leo, she couldn't handle that right now. She slipped out of the car, grabbing her bag, she strode slowly, wakling beside Keith as Leo and Aria went to get rooms. Her bag was slung over her shoulder, and she had grabbed Keith's for him. She liked Keith, he was almost a big brother in a sense he had gotten very protective over her, and well, right now he wasn't pressuring her to answer any hard questions.
"Thanks Keith" She said softly, he slung an arm over her shoulder.
"No prob" He grinned.

"Must you steal everything?" Leo muttered, as Aria once again, put him on gaurd duty as she worked to pick the lock into the front office. Obviously, the place closed after six. Aria stuck her tongue out gently as she worked, a wire bobby pin pulled in odd ways as she turned, listening for the soft click that would open the door.
"Do you want to keep spending money?" Aria asked quietly. "The gods only know how long we'll be on the ro-ah ha!" she whispered as the door opened. She was inside the next instant, ruffling up a few papers in the process. By now, Aria had the general lay out of where motels kept their spare room keys.


Leo sighed, rolling his eyes. Aria was back the next minute, spinning solid metal keys on her fingers. "I think one room is upstairs." she murmured. Leo took that key before sharing a look with Aria. Somehow, he didn't have to say anything else. Aria sighed, slamming the door shut behind her as Leo walked off towards the room. "Great." she muttered before running to catch up to Sara and Keith.
"Come on Water Boy. We're down this way." Aria said, swinging the key ring on her fingers once more.
"And we're upstairs." Leo said. "We shouldn't be too far off...in case something happens." Aria nodded before walking towards the room.

Keith sighed, hearing Aria's muttering, it sort of bothered him, knowing she wasn't looking forward to this, and well, she had just made him feel like crap.
"See you' He said to Sara, pulling away from her after a quick hug, and trailed behind Aria, slipping into the room. It was dingy to say the least, and he felt slightly uncomfortable, sharing a room with Aria.
"What bed do you want?" He asked, standing in the doorway, before finally stepping in and closing the door behind him. It slammed shut, almost in a forboding way, and he winced, shaking his head and sighing.

Sara smiled, "See you Keith" She murmured, following Leo upstairs. She sighed, stepping into the dingy room.
"Oh" She wrinkled her nose, "This place is gross" She said, letting her bag fall on the bed closest to the window. That was where Leo would want to sleep, and well, this bed looked cleaner then the other one.

Slidding the key into the lock, Aria had to push the door open with her shoulder for it to open. She cursed in greek then, having used her bad shoulder without realizing it. She looked around the room, shaking her head quietly. She was glad they hadn't paid for this; the room wasn't worth a dime for the night.
Aria's head snapped at the sound of the door slamming. Her face paled slightly, but Aria swallowed and shook her head. That was never good.
"Er, I'll take the one farthest from the door." Aria muttered, tossing her bag at the night stand and placing her sword on the bed. It creaked and groaned as Aria sat down, and the blankets felt scracthy. Pulling her pocket knife from her shorts, Aria snapped the blade open, looking at it for a moment before closing it shut and slidding it under her pillow.
"Doubt I'll get any sleep tonight." Aria murmured, shaking her head gently, pulling out her bottle of nector and sipping it gently. It got rid of her pounding headache.


Leo sighed, letting the door shut behind him. "Not exactly a five star room..." he murmured, but that was sugar coating it. He pulled his bag off, sitting it on the floor next to the window, placing his quiver at the side of the bed.
"Though, it's better than being cramped in that car for the night. I'll say that much." Leo sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing his shoulder gently. His eyes darted to Sara then and he caught a bit of dried blood, a cut he hadn't healed earlier.
"Come here." Leo murmured quietly, taking her hand gently before reaching up to the cut, relaxing as the warmth spread out from his palm.

Keith sighed, "It's better then the car" He said, although he was trying to reassure himself. He sighed, hsaking his head and taking the bed she had decided against.
"Nice and comfortable" He grumbled sarcastically, stretching out. It wasn't that late, only about seven in the evening.
"Mind if I see if the TV in this dump works?" He asked, he went to grab the remote, but he found that it was like glued to the table top. He sighed, hitting the 'power' button, mildly suprised to see the channel come in.

Sara glanced at Leo, "Sure" She nodded, surpised as she felt the heat in his hand, he must have missed a cut.
"Thanks" She murmured, sliding her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest for a moment, before pulling back.
"You tired yet?" She asked, the sun was begining to set, and she was a bit worried about him. She knew he fell asleep with the sun, and she wasn't going to complain, though she sort of wanted him to stay awake, keep her company, but she wasn't going to say anything.

Aria nodded. She drew her sword out, digging in her bag for the rag she had used back in Miami to clean the sword. It still felt a bit awkward in her hands, and the edges were starting to dull...Aria sighed, setting to cleaning the blade which hadn't been done since the Python fight.
"Knock yourself out." Aria murmured, not really caring if the tv did work or not. Her hand moved steadily as she whiped the cloth down along the metal. Aria's eyes darted to the screen, raising an eye brow in surprise.
"Go firgure." she muttered, slidding her sword back into the scabbard once it was clean and setting it on the floor next to her bag. "Probably cable. Anything good?" Aria murmured, mildly intersted.


Leo smiled. "You're welcome." He sighed as she wrapped her arms around him, and he did the same. Though he was gently now with his arms about her waist, not wanting to hurt her. Leo inhaled deeply, kissing her head gently before she pulled away. Leo shrugged gently.
"Getting there...." he murmured honestly. He couldn't help the smile that came to his face as he looked her over. She still looked beauitful...though now he could see the worry in her eyes.
"Sara, if anyone needs to worry, it's me. Not you." Leo muttered, pulling her back into his arms, letting her practically sit on his lap.

Keith shrugged.
"We'll find out" He said, flicking the button and surfing through the channels.
"Er, some old movie?" He paused, trying to figure out what it was. He nearly laughed, "It's the old Hercules movie, the disney one" He smiled, wondering if she wanted to watch it. Aria didn't seem like the disney type, but it would be nice to just have something to laugh about for a few hours. He shook his head, glancing at Aria, waiting curiously.


Sara sighed, letting herself press into Leo.
"Why do you have to be worried?" She asked curiously. She didn't know why he'd be worried, she knew there was stuff to worry about, but she didn't want him worry about her. She let him pull her into his lap, kissing his cheek, "Please don't worry about me" She said, looking at him with a small frown now.

Aria grinned and shook her head, laughing quietly. "Gods, I haven't seen that movie since I was a little kid..." she muttered, drawing one of her legs up onto the bed, resting her arms on her knee. "Yea leave it." she said quietly, though it had already started.
"Ya know how much Disney actually screwed up Hercules' story?" Aria muttered then, information coming to her again. "He wasn't the son of Hera. He was a half blood, son of Zeus though. Hera was pissed that Zeus had another kid with some mortal, and sent Hercules these impossible tasks to complete, hoping they would kill him. Actually, they would have been impossible for a human, but Hercules managed to pull them all off...." Aria rambled quietly as the movie played and the soft music came from the scene. A small smile crept onto her lips then, and she mouthed the words to the long, catching herself before she started singing.


Leo raised an eye brow at Sara's question. Did she really not know the answer to that one? He sighed, keeping his arms around her.
"After today, it's hard not to worry about you." Leo murmured. "I care about you Sara, I don't want anything to ever happen to you..." he sighed, blinking away the sleep that pulled at him as the last bit of sunshine fell from the sky. He brushed a hand lightly over Sara's cheek then, a content smile on his face.

Keith smiled, "Me neither" He said, laughing as she rambled about the story of Hercules.
"You know, I think heard something like that" He shrugged, leaning back on the bed.
"I'm so sleeping with my clothes" He said, crawling under the blankets and letting himself drift towards sleep, watching the movie curiously. He shook his head, glancing at Aria to see her mouthing the words, he turned away, grinning she was fairly cute when she did stuff like that.
"Oh well, I suppose Disney had to 'keep it clean', for lack of a better saying" He said, shaking his head and sighing.

Sara sighed, "I know, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have freaked out like that. But last year I was in a really bad car accident, same sort of deal, I mean a drunk driver, but he t-boned my car. I spent a month in the hospital, recovering, two weeks on bed rest at home, and then rehab" She sighed, shaking her head and running her fingers through her hair, shaking her head and looking at him sadly.

Aria nodded. "He had twelve trails. None of them are even mentioned in the movie...." she paused then, seeing the battle on the screen. Hercules facing the Hryda. "Ah, except that one. The only way to kill it though was to prevent the heads from coming back. To do that, Hercules had to use fire to burn the stumps after cutting off the head."
Aria grinned and then, laying back and linking her hands behind her head. "Disney didn't keep it clean, they made up their own story....they don't even mention your dad really. And my father's blue..." Aria rolled her eyes, though the smirk was still on her face. "Though he's probably just as skinny." Aria murmured, rubbing her own slim waist absentmindedly. She couldn't say though; she had been told she was the Daughter of Hermes by her mother, and that was all Aria knew.


Leo winced. "Oh Gods Sara, I had no idea..." he murmured, pulling her towards him, wrapping his arms tighter around her. Now wonder she had gotten so tense when they noticed the drunk driver in front of them on the highway. He squeezed her gently before letting her go then. He smiled lightly, eyes gentle, reassuring.
"Well, it's over now. I think Aria scared him into insanity." Leo chckled, shaking his head gently and sighing, rubbing his shoulder gently.

Keith sighed, "My dad's not mentioned in a lot of modern day stuff. I mean" He geustured at the figure of Zeus and his wife on the screen.
"I doubt that's what they look like. I mean, they're supposed to blend in with mortals when they come to earth, have a human appearance. Artemis didn't stand out at all, until you really started paying attention. My mom said my dad was one of the most attractive men she'd ever met" He sighed, "So odviously they're not, well, that" He rolled his eyes, "Or colour coded"

Sara sighed, "Yea, she's good at scaring people" She sighed again, she cuddled agiainst Leo.
"I thought I was over it, but I guess not. The glass, everything, it just brought back really bad memories" She leaned against him, sighing, a few tears dripping down her face.

Aria nodded. "I'm sure the gods can look like whatever they want to..." she murmured quietly. "I think there's one story where the Big Guy-" she nodded to the character of Zues "-he turned into a swan and came down to Earth..." Aria stared up at the ceiling for a moment in thought before sighing and looking back at the screen. She sat in silence then, watching the movie contently. Well, not entirely; she was getting restless again, but she was trying her hardest not to let it show. Laying on the bed wasn't helping at all. Eventualy, during one of the songs, Aria stood up and walked into the bathroom, pulling her hair back into a braid at her neck before walking back out into the room slowly, unwinding her braid once more.


Leo kept his arms around Sara as she rested against him. "Post-dramatic stress...it's nothing outta the ordinary." he told her tiredly, surpressing a yawn.
"I'll drive in the morning then, just take it easy alright?" he murmured, falling back on the bed then. Leo could hardly care that the pillow was stiff and flat, or that the covers were stracthy beneath him; he was nearlly exhausted, but trying to stay awake for Sara's sake.

"I heard there was another time where he took the shape of a bull" He sighed, watching her. Days of staying with Aria told him she was restless. He sighed, leaning against the stiff pillows, not really caring about how uncomfortable he really was. He glanced up as she came back out of the washroom.
"Is the water safe, do you think?" He asked, he was thristy, desperately so, but he really didn't know if the water was drinkable. He rubbed his eyes, yawning. It was late, he didn't want to sleep, but he half expected Aria to smack him over the head with something if he refused to do so.

Sara sighed, "Good to know" She murmured, rubbing her head. She sighed, he was beyond tired, she could tell.
"Go to sleep Leo, I'll be fine" She murmured, she slipped away from him, crawling under the covers next to him, flicking the TV on. She was way to stressed to sleep. She smiled, finding the Disney Hercules movie that Keith and Aria were watching.

"Really?" Aria murmured, passing her fingers through her hair as she walked. She started to re-braid it as Keith asked about the water.
"I wouldn't bet my life on it." Aria said, as if she had done it once before. "The rust in those pipes is probably too thick for the water to get through..."
She tossed her finished braid over her shoulder then. "There was a vending machine down in the main office. I can get you something to drink from there if you want..." She offered, quickly looking back to the movie screen.


"Sure?" Leo murmured, though he was already half asleep. It was a loosing battle; staying up longer than the sun. Leo sighed, pulling the sheets over him, though he wasn't at all cold. He rolled onto his side as Sara slid next to him and he wrapped an arm around her legs gently. Closing his eyes, Leo was out the next instant.

"Would you?" Keith asked, he hated relying on people, but he was as helpless as a child right now, sore from the long day, barely healed, he was beat to hell.'
"I can do it myself, if you tell me where to go" He said, trying to save some sembalance of his dignity. He rubbed his hand through his tousled hair, carefully pushing the blankets aside, and placing his feet on the floor. Even that movement hurt, a lot, though he tried to keep from showing how much pain he was really in. He knew if Aria saw his injuries right now, she'd probably tie him to the bed, she was seriuos about him taking it easy.

"Yea" Sara said, smiling as Leo's arm came around her stoamch. She was sitting up higher then him, so his head was practically resting on her stoamch right now. She ran her fingers absentmindedly through her hair. She sighed, leaning over to kiss him, before allowing the mindless movie to wash over her.

Aria had her pocket knife out, pointed at Keith's throat the next instant, keeping him from moving or standing up. Her eyes were sharp, though there was a sly smile on her face.
"No, I don't think you can Water Boy." she told him. "This is...shall I say, my area of expertise." Aria pulled back her knife slowly, holding it up before snapping it shut.
"It would probably take you all night to get a quater of the way along the parking lot." Aria had her sword strapped to her back; just a safety and reassurance measure more than anything.
"I'll be back before you can spell Zeus." Aria said, laughing before slipping out of the room.

If it wasn't for the fact that there was a functioning street lamp, Aria might not have gone. The light was dim, but enough that she could see the main office. Aria wished she had grabbed her flashing light.
"Nah, come on, you can do this..." Aria told herself. It wasn't a fear of darkness, it was the fact that the darkness seemed thick and it completely surronded her. It made her feel trapped; Aria was claustrophbic.
Aria managed to get inside, and there was a soft light from the street reflecting into the room. Going to the vending machine, Aria took out her pocket knife, working at the lock next to the money deposite slit. She smirked; no lock stood a chance. She grabbed Keith a water bottle, herself a soda, a few bags of chips and a candy bar before locking things back up and running back to the room. Kicking the door open lightly with her foot, Aria placed the chips and candy on the small table with a sigh, kicking the door back closed.
"Here." she said, tossing him the water bottle.

"Ze-" Keith rolled his eyes, laughing as she disappeared. He pulled his body back on the bed, relieved that she didn't ask to check his injuries. No one had seen them since the attack, and he had been doing his best to care for them alone, though it seemed it wasn't working as well, or that the lake spirit had had something strange in it's 'claws' and well, he was infected. He shook his head, looking up as Aria returned.
"Wow, that was fast" He said, catching the water and taking a relieved sip.
"Thanks" He breathed, feeling a bit better, though the water didn't do much for his injury right now, as he didn't have the strength to heal it, but it did feel nice.

He glanced at the food on the table, snagging the bag of Doritos. He yanked the bag open, pulling a chip out and taking a satisfied bite. He was hungry, and they hadn't had much of a chance to stop for food on the way to the hotel.
"You think Sara's alright?" He asked, sighing. She had been silent, shaken the whole way to the hotel.

"I am the embodiement of speed." Aria said, munching on a snickers bar as she flopped back onto her bed. She knew she was fast; even her half-sibilings Tania and James had said so. She unscrewed the cap to her soda, guzzleing down nearly a quater of the bottle in one gulp. Aria sighed in relief, not caring that the carbonated drink burned in the back of her throat. She hadn't had soda since the day she had left-
"Mother Maia!" Aria gasped then, quickly grabbing her bag and scrambling around inside of it. She muttered to herself, worried, anxious, scared all mixed in one. Finally, she fished out an old dinky flip-phone and charger. Walking over to the nearest outlit, Aria pulled her phone in to charge. The battery was entirely dead; it would take all night for it to fully charge. Thinking of her first day at camp, reminded Aria that she had left without saying goodbye, and her mother would be worried to death. She might even think Aria was dead after the siutation in Miami...

"Wha?" Aria asked then, looking over her shoulder, still crouched on the floor next to the charger. "Oh, dunno." she murmured, though she looked distracted as she walked back to the bed. Aria took another sip from her soda, but she wasn't too enthuasitc about it now.

Keith let out a small sigh, Aria was all jumpy again, freaking out over some phone.
"Er, do you need to make a call?" He asked, he held out his own phone, fully charged, which had been in his bag, thankfully. He sighed, leaving it sitting on the table as he finished his chips, before rolling onto his back, he took another sip of his water. He yawned, "I'm gonna crash" He mumbled tiredly. He rolled onto his bad side, letting out a string of whispered curses, before settling for lying on his stomach.

He sighed, burying his face in the uncomfortable pillow. He sighed, shaking his head and falling asleep almost instantly. His dreams were typical, though he thrashed a tiny bit, dreaming of the pool of water, the spirit's seductive voice.

Aria stared at Keith's phone for a moment. She chewed her light gently, suddenly wary about using a cell phone to make a call at all. She wasn't sure why she was suddenly hesitating, but she was. Aria swallowed, nodding to Keith as he fell asleep, leaving her to finish watching the movie. Aria sighed, shaking her head and sipping from her soda, turning her attention to the screen. Another song was playing; the love song Meg does with the Muses.

Aria sighed, singing along quietly, conscious of Keith stirring in his sleep. Aria watched him for a moment, rubbing her lips gently, a small smile on her face, letting the words of the song lasp over her.
"At least out loud..." Aria sung, her voice soft and smooth. "I won't say I'm in...love..." the next thing Aria knew, she was fast asleep.


Leo julted from his sleep, sitting upright, breathing heavy. He looked around frantically, sighing deeply when he saw Sara's small firgured laying next to him. The sun was just peaking through the window, and Leo sighed again. He leaned forward, holding his head in his hands for a moment to catch his breath. Silently then, Leo pulled himself out from the covers, going outside, quietly closing the door behind him. Leo rubbed his face furiously then, wanting to wake up, wanting the dream gone from his mind.

Keith mumbled, tossing, suddenly jerking awake with a loud curse. His side was bleeding again, it hurt. He shifted, the sheets were soaked with blood, he must have been tossing all night. He glanced at Aria, she was still asleep, maybe he could get this cleaned up without her noticing. Sliding from the bed, he winced, carefully replacing the blankets, hiding the blood, and slipping into the washroom to carefully attempt to shower. He turned on the water, nothing. Sighing, he mopped up his side, using the water left over from his water bottle, and cleaned his side, checking the injuries. Definately re-opened, and infected. He fished the mecical gauze and tape from his bag, re-wrapping his mid-section, carefully tossing out the bloody things with the garbage. So far, so good.

Sara shifted, grumbling incoherently. She rubbed her eyes, rolling over, suprised when she didn't find Leo's warm body. A small frown on her still sleeping face, before she slept again. She cuddled against his pillow, suddenly lying horizontally in the bed. Sara tended to shift about when she was sleeping.

Aria julted, hearing Keith curse. She was a light sleeper, but at the moment, she was only half awake. "Wassamatter?" she asked tiredly, rolling as she heard him stumble into the bathroom. Aria swallowed, tasting something sour; the soda from last night. She sighed then, deeply, rubbing her face before rolling onto her stomach. She firgured the curse was just her imagination and after putting her arm under her head, Aria fell back into a light sleep.


Leo leaned against the railing as the sun came up. It cast golden light onto the ground, baking everything in a soft yellow glow. Leo ran his fingers through his hair, sighing and closing his eyes as the strong ray hit his skin. He felt better, but not by a lot. Tid bits of his dream was still playing over in his mind; a fight; his arrows not having an effect; Sara getting hurt...Leo snapped his eyes open, still breathing heavy. His grip had tightened on the metal railing, and now it was burning his skin.
"Ah, damnit." Leo hissed, pulling his hands away. The heat had been slidding from his palms, heating the metal, and then burning him. Sighing, Leo walked back into the room, finding his bag and opening it, finding a salve and rubbing it into his palm before wrapping it.

Keith winced, hearing Aria for a moment, peeking his head in and watching her fall back asleep. He was relieved, happy to know that she was, for awhile, oblivious. He walked back over to the bed, stripping the bloody sheets and stashing them in a closet, no one would look in there, well, no one that mattered, and then he sat down on the bed, careful to not tear his still bleeding, infected injuries anymore. He ran his fingers through his hair, shaking his head and stretching out, wincing. He bit his tounge, trying not to curse.

Sara shifted, opening her eyes, seeing Leo.
"M'rning" She said groggily, before shifting back into a normal sleeping position. She closed her eyes, yawning tiredly, and rubbing her eyes. She wondered what was going on, what time it was, but she was so zoned out, it was nearly impossible to think coherent thoughts.