ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

κ.

Metathesiophobia - Fear of change

Aza awoke in the morning to anxious shouts and the sickening noise of clanking metal. Assuming it was her aunts and uncles preparing for training, she rolled over and grabbed her pillow, forcing it over her ears to muffle the noise. When that didn't work and she could still very loudly hear chatter and the anxious calls, Aza shouted, "You guys better shut up or I'll kick your ass! I'm resting for a quest." She almost expected her family to leave her alone, but they didn't get the chance to ruin her expectations - the camp's conch horn blew thrice in the distance, echoing throughout the entire camp. It was a warning sound, and it caused Aza to rise instantly. She grabbed a sword from the large weapon rack that made the back wall of the cabin and raced towards the central green after her aunts and uncles. Though everyone was in a panic, she still received several very odd looks - Aza was dressed strangely in an oversized 'Queen' t-shirt and a pair of small black shorts, not to mention her barefoot feet. 

She followed the crowd of barely armed campers - Katie Gardner was dressed in a pair of fuzzy pajama pants decorated with brightly colored roses and a spaghetti strap, wielding a pair of gardening shears that she had obviously grabbed right before leaving her cabin. Not all cabins had a weapons wall like the Ares cabin. Connor Stoll was dressed in Batman boxers and a plain green t-shirt, clutching a singular Converse in his hand, and Lou Ellen held a long bronze screwdriver threateningly in front of her, clad in camoflauge leggings and a black t-shirt. Aza and her aunts and uncles, the camp's best warriors, lined behind Apollo's archers, who were all luckily wielding bows (save for Kyara Lakely, who instead held what appeared to be a celestial bronze ninja star). 

Aza watched the skies, pressing her right hand against her forehead and trying to block out the sun to make out the threat. It appeared to be a very large bird, and Aza briefly worried it would be another Stygian bird (though, judging from the size, it would be a Stygian bird hopped up on anabolic steroids), but soon the figure grew closer and Aza's heart dropped to her stomach. She would've much preferred a Stygian bird - the campers had blown the conch because it was a dragon, and a very specific one at that. Aza held up her sword, shouting for the Apollo children to ready their bows, which they gladly did, each notching an arrow into their bows in unison. Will Solace yelled, "Take aim!" Each archer raised their bows, drawing back the strings and waiting for the command to fire (besides Kyara Lakely, who curved her arm and brought it close to her chest, as if preparing to fire a boomerang). 

Aza was about to tell Will to give the order to fire when she heard a very faint, "Don't kill me!" The dragon got closer to the ground, and Aza began to make out the very faint appearance of a rider one the dragon who continued with, "It's cool! Don't shoot!" Aza wanted to point out that it very much wasn't cool, but she nonetheless shouted for the archers to lower their bows. The campers backed away and formed a wide and loose ring around the landing metallic dragon - they alternated between an Ares/Athena camper and other campers, seeing as they were the best warriors. Some other, more... cowardly campers peaked out from their cabin doors and windows, anxiously awaiting the battle they believed was about to commence.

No one seemed particularly anxious to get close to the large metallic dragon, and Aza couldn't blame them. She could sense the fear of each camper and it hit her like a wave, the group's fear combining and crashing into the girl over and over, almost sending her staggering backwards as though she had suffered a physical blow. Aza felt like she was beginning to drown in it, but she briefly closed her russet eyes, feeling the fear in her own body begin to rise up. Her mind's Tartarus, which contained her burden, began to grumble and she could feel the fears rising, sludging up like the earth after a heavy rain. She forced them back, crushing them, stomping them, forcing them back into her mind's pit, banishing them like her ancestors had the Titans. Once she was sure her fears were contained - at least for the time being - Aza opened her eyes once more as the dragon landed.