Azrail's Fate

So, um, Whoops? (Marinette's POV)

I fidgeted with Leo's gift in my fingers. The thing he gave me when I first met him. It wasn't anything special, just a little silver necklace. It had a pretty chain, and the actual charm looked intricate. Like a miniature dragon.

I looked up at the lake, before turning back to the tiny charm. I heard a voice behind me say, "It's a prototype." I whirled, and smiled when I saw Leo, "Of what?" He sat beside me, and held out a hand, "May I?"

I nodded, unclipping it and handing it to him. He flipped the dragon over, and showed me an intricate, tiny, switch. He said, "I'm planning on making more of these. I have a few other prototypes, and you looked panicked when I met you. So, I gave this one to you." He flipped the switch, and suddenly the dragon flipped over in his hand, curling in the center of his palm.

I widened my eyes. The thing could probably fit on the pad of my thumb, but it was crawling around easily on his hand. He handed it to me and said, "This one's a girl, by the way. You should name it." I tilted my head, studying her. She was pure silver, with flecks of blue as her eyes. They seemed to actually see me, like she was capable of understanding me.

I smiled and said, "I think I'm gonna name her Asteria. That's a person I've been reading about a lot lately." He nodded, and said, "So, what are you doing at the edge of the lake?" I shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I'm just thinking." He sighed, looking out in front of us for a second, then he said, "As fun as this is, we're going into the woods to look for something to fight. Are you down?"

I nodded, accepting his hand as I stood. I'd been here for a couple days, and every single day the Seven made an effort to bring me into their stuff. I followed him into the woods, where Annabeth held out a knife. I had practiced so much with these knives and bow and arrows that I had technique, but I needed to start practicing with my bow and arrow.

I pulled her aside and said, quietly, "I kind of already have a weapon." She grinned and nodded, "Get it out. You're with Nico and Hazel." A girl I hadn't met yet waved to me. She had super curly caramel hair and she had an aura of power, similar to Percy's.

The boy beside her was the boy who had brought me to camp. I walked over and said, "I'm Marinette." She shook my hand, "Hazel Levesque. Daughter of Pluto." I nodded, and the boy waved. He was leaning against a pure black sword that seemed to suck the light out of the air. He said, "Nico Di Angelo. Son of Hades."

I nodded and Annabeth called for attention. We all turned and she said, "Alright. You guys know how this works. Go look for something to fight, and when you find something, call the rest of us. Okay?"

I nodded, and in seconds the group had run off. I leaned over to Hazel, "Aren't monsters not supposed to get into camp?" She nodded, and Nico said, "That's why we're going outside of camp." I nodded, and slipped my clip out of my hair. A bow ended up in my hands, and a quiver slid down my back. I grabbed an arrow and prepared, the bow knocked.

Hazel had her hands in front of her, and Nico was holding up his sword. While we walked, Hazel said, "Who's your godly parent?" I shifted, and said, "Athena." Nico gave me a sidelong glance, but said nothing as we continued to walk through the trees.

I was about to ask how long this usually takes when a huge pack of... flying lions flew out of the sky. In seconds, they had picked up Nico. Hazel shrieked and in return she was pulled hard into the air by a griffin.

I held up my bow and arrow, shouting, "GUYS! FOUND SOME!" Before I shot at the griffins. A few of them burst into dust, but I panicked when the one carrying Nico's grip slipped and he fell to the ground. I widened my eyes and ran over.

I caught him from the air as skeletons burst from the dirt all around me. Nico looked up at me, clearly dazed. I put him down, turning to where the skeletons were pulling the griffins out of the sky and killing them effectively like a machine.

I widened my eyes, unsure what was happening. The one holding Hazel started to fly further away, but an arrow sprouted from its skull. I turned to see the rest of the seven standing together. In seconds, they launched into action.

Percy shouted, "Take down the skeletons, Nico." Nico looked over at me, and I could tell he was warning me. He grabbed my arm and whispered, "They aren't under my control. They're under yours. Take them down." I felt my hands shaking as the skeletons looked around. The griffins were gone and they were looking for more blood.

Nico's fingers dug into my arms, "Take. Them. Down." I stuttered, "I-I don't know how." He said, "Breath, Marinette. Tell them to go away." I closed my eyes and hoped they would vanish. And I heard Annabeth say, "Hey, Marinette, are you okay? Nico brings the skeletons out all the time."

Hazel walked over and put an arm over my shoulder, "I think Nico and I want to get to know Mari a bit better. Do you mind if we take her somewhere?"