Hunters

The Welcoming Committee and a Loss of Consciousness

"Hello there," a dark-skinned girl practically leapt out of the water, causing Percy and I to scream. "I'm not going to hurt you two! I'm just the welcoming committee! My name's Hazel. I already know you, Percy. You caused quite a stir when you left! Does Annabeth know that you're here?"
Percy's face was red and filled with despair from crying, but he smiled at the mere mention of Annabeth. "No, she doesn't know, Hazel. She might have seen us at a pub, but she doesn't know that we followed her here."
"Oh, alrighty then!" She turned her head to get a better look at me. "And who might you be?"
"My name is Thalia, Thalia Grace."
"Nice to meet you, Thalia! Well, now that we've got introductions out of the way, do you mind if I climb into your dinghy? I figure I ought to tell the others to let the ropes down, and I'd rather not have to spend the night in the ocean."
Before we could even answer, she climbed aboard our vessel and let out the same six noted whistle that Annabeth had. The responding notes proceeded, and the ropes flew down just as quick. Hazel tied them to both prongs in a matter of seconds, dripping saltwater on our clothes in the process. She tugged on both of the ropes, and our boat ascended.

~

What seemed like an hour later due to my fear of heights, we had reached the main deck. Hazel stepped onto the ship first, and a muscled, dark eyed fellow wrapped her in a blanket before kissing her on the forehead. Percy went next, and Annabeth turned away as soon as he came near. I stayed in the boat, for fear that if I attempted to leave, my dinghy would tip over mid-step, plunging me into the ocean. After Hazel made multiple failed attempts at coaxing me out of the small boat, a tall woman with her dark hair in a braid stepped forward and into my boat. She looked at me with eyes that had seen too much heartache and bloodshed before opening her mouth to speak.
"Are you going to get out of this lifeboat?"
I shook my head no; it would take approximately seven miracles to move me from that spot.
"Any reasons why? Or are you just too comfortable to move?"
Once again, I shook my head no, even though I wanted to express my fear of falling into the ocean. After a minute of silence, she spoke again, in a slightly joking manner.
"Am I going to have to carry you out?"
I didn't answer for a good minute, so she sighed and sat down next to me. She was warm; I wasn't even touching her, yet I could feel the warmth of her skin from where I was sitting. She smelled of fresh linen, saltwater, and cedar; a poignant aroma compared to the dull odor of the sea. And her voice. Her voice sounded rough and scratchy in some places, but her words were so soft and kind that if it were possible to hear only one person speak for the rest of my life, I'd choose her without a doubt in my mind that she was the one.

"Yes." I managed to croak out. "Could you carry me?"
She chuckled and started to get up. I frowned, thinking that she was mocking me, when she slowly lifted me off of the hard wooden boat. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her neck and buried my face into her chest. She carried me out of the boat and into the center of the deck before stopping. I was so focused on her warmth and her smell that I had forgotten I was being carried until she cleared her throat.
"Sorry about that, I got...lost in thought." I swung my legs down onto the floor and brushed any invisible dust I may have accumulated off of my dress. "Anyways, where is your captain? I have a few words for her."
The dark-haired woman stared deeply into my eyes. "I am the captain. My name is Reyna Avila Ramírez Arellano."
As quickly as I had regained my footing, I started to fall backwards onto the deck. I must have lost consciousness mid-way, as I do not remember hitting the ground.

A/N: Well, remember last week when I said 'oh, next week'll be better'? It did not get better. I got a terrible cold from my parents, so I spent Friday through Sunday coughing and sniffling. There's more, but I don't want to sound really negative. Anyways, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I hope that you had fun reading it! See you next week! ~ Nicole