Troubles and Woes (Destiny)

He was breaking camp rules, but that was nothing new. In the past few months Dominic had broke a number of camp rules. He was known for being a trouble maker. But as Dominic crept through the shadows of midnight towards the Erebus cabin even he began to think that what he risked might land him in more trouble than he could handle.
Then again. It wasn't as if he could just go back to sleep. That was precisely the reason why he was up so late. He had far too much on his mind lately to be able to sleep and he needed to talk to someone. Someone who understood him better than even his best friend Fred.
He needed Destiny.
As he walked up to the Erebus cabin he breathed in slowly before knocking gently on the cabin door. Making sure not to make too much noise in case the harpies swooped down and devoured him.

Destiny was reading. Nothing new there, but this time she was interrupted.
A knock at the door caused the shadows to swarm about in panic. She quietly approached her door, scythe in hand. The interior of the shadow cabin was black upon black. It was neat, all of her belongings put away where they should be. The only thing that looked as if someone actually slept in there were the weapons on the desk and the multitude of bookshelves that were packed with literature. There were piles of books on the floor, on chairs, on everything.
Destiny opened the door a bit before throwing it wide open.
"Dominic Moss, what're you doing here?" she whispered with a smile.

He smiled at Destiny when she opened the door. Even though it was late she still looked beautiful.
'Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt and I know its really late but...' Dominic said and scratched his head sheepishly.
'Look can I...can I come in?' He asked before his eyes drifted to the scythe she held, 'Unless you're planning on chopping me to pieces with that nasty looking thing?'

Destiny laughed and turned her scythe back into a necklace. She put it on her neck, the weapon resting just above the neck of her black tank top. She realized she was in a tank top and short black shorts. With a slight blush, she stepped to the side.
"Sure, you can come in. If you get caught, though..." She smiled and motioned for him to walk in. She was slightly worried about why he was there so late at night, but she didn't really care.

'If I get caught then it'll be worth it.' Dominic said with a shrug, 'Besides, we'll just tell them what we always tell them. It was all my idea and you were the innocent victim behind my evil scheme.' He said before walking into the cabin.
He let out a whistle as he looked around the Erebus cabin. It was no surprise to see how dark the cabin was with its black on black color scheme, but it was still interesting when compared to the Apollo cabins bright and cheerful interior with walls covered with musical instruments, bows, arrows and hundreds of different books on poetry and music.
'You're lucky you get all this to yourself. Its peaceful here.' Dominic said as he turned back to face Destiny.
It was at this moment that he noticed what Destiny was wearing. His eyes dropped to her tank top and then to her shorts before a flash of scarlet stretched across his cheeks. He gulped and turned to face the nearest bookshelf. Trying to remind himself that he hadn't come over to ogle his girlfriend.

Destiny chuckled, "I'm used to being alone. There's not much I can do about not having many siblings." She shrugged as if it didn't matter, but sometimes she wished she had someone.
Her eyes quickly searched the room for anything embarrassing she'd left out and forgot to put away. Really, they searched for anything embarrassing she wouldn't want her boyfriend to see. Not seeing anything, she motioned about the room.
"Welcome to the Erebus cabin, I guess. Have a seat where ever you'd like, preferably not on any books," Destiny said with a smile. She sat down on the edge of her bed and looked at Dominic.
"So, Mr. Moss, what brings you here at this time of darkness?" Destiny asked with a grin.

Dominic decided to take a seat at the foot of one of the book cases. He figured it would be best to put a little distance between them in case he started staring again and let his heart do the thinking for him rather than his head.
'Well a few things.' He began before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out two post cards. One had a target on the front of it with an arrow through it and the other had a picture of a beach in Florida.
'Question is where do I start. The weird letter, the post card from my step-dad, my argument with Enyo or the meeting I recently had with Athena because I'm the idiot that let her daughter get hurt and has now lost her memory?' Dominic asked before letting out a sigh and clutching his head between his hands.

Destiny's eyebrows raised in alarm.
"Whoa! Okay! Slow down there, Tiger!" she said and sat next to him, putting an arm around his shoulders.
"Okay, now, start from, well, the start. How did any of this happen? What in the shadow realm are you talking about?" she asked a little confused. She'd met only 2 Athena daughters, Alexis and Autumn, and neither seemed damaged in any way.

He breathed in deep and exhaled slowly, letting out the stress that coursed through him. Just mentioning his problems was making him feel like screaming.
'OK I'll start with Alexis. Right from the beginning' Dominic said, drawing comfort from the warm body that sat next to him.
'It happened a few weeks after I first got here. I was still getting used to being a demigod and had befriended a few people like Fred, Skipper and Alexis. We got into a few scrapes together but usually came out fine on the other end.'
'Then one day Fred and me had this stupid idea to go searching for the Hill of Myrmekes. A big ant hill full of gigantic ants that spat acid. The whole place was said to be loaded with magic items and weapons. It sounded like fun.'
Dominic looked at the floor and swallowed hard. His body began to tremble a little and his fist clenched.
'Alexis told us not to go. Said it was a stupid idea and it would just get us hurt. But none of us listen....I...I didn't listen.' He mumbled.
'Alexis got annoyed at us and ran off by herself. Me and the other two explored the ant hill and nearly got killed. By the time we got out of the place we were beaten up pretty bad.'
'And then we saw her.' Dominic said with a solemn voice, 'Alexis lying on the ground. Not moving. A giant monster standing over her. She had been ambushed after wandering off.'

Destiny's eyebrows furrowed, and she felt herself tightening her arm around him, trying her best to comfort him.
"Dom, I'm sure you didn't mean to.. I mean, you never mean for bad things to happen! Just, you can't dwell on it... How were you supposed to know that she would get hurt?"
Destiny sighed, and she remembered how Alexis had been the first time she met her, so strong and fighting that one kid...

'I should have been there Destiny. I shouldn't have let her go off on her own and I shouldn't have led my friends into almost certain doom.' He said, trying to keep the snarl out his voice. He was angry, but at himself. His friends meant the world to him and some of the happiest moments of his life have involved him and the others battling evil. But after Alexis had gotten hurt Dominic had never forgiven himself for what happened.
'I ended up getting visited by Athena next time I saw her' Dominic said and turned to Destiny with a grim smile on his face.
'She said that she didn't approve of my friendship with her daughter. And I can't blame her. What Goddess of Wisdom would want an idiot like me hanging around with her kids?'

Destiny smiled sadly and said, "Dominic, anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend. We all make mistakes, and we all live with regrets. It was a mistake, a dumb one, yes, but a mistake nonetheless. Athena probably wants her kids to only hang out with those who will help them develop for the smarter, wiser, and stronger. I don't know Alexis nor Athena very well, but I'm sure Alexis has forgiven you!"

'But I keep letting people down Destiny.' Dominic said sadly, 'A while back I met with Enyo, the Goddess of destruction. I told her that I would keep her daughter Fred out of trouble. I told her that I would help her be a hero she could be proud of.'
He stood up at that point and crossed the room. Running a hand through his hair in frustration before turning back to her, 'Guess how that worked out? Because of my genius idea to go raid the Ant Hill her mother beat her up. Said she had failed to protect us.'

Destiny frowned, hugging her knees close to her body.
What was she supposed to say? The more she tried to reassure him, the worse it seemed to get. She felt herself growing darker, her mood wanting the shadows to pull her into them and disappear.
Destiny spoke up softly, "Dominic, I'm sorry to hear that.."

Dominic turned away and faced the nearest wall. He closed his eyes before resting his head against it and breathing in deep. He was quiet for a moment before letting out a long sigh.
'No...I'm sorry.' Dominic said softly, 'I'm unloading all of this on you and it ain't fair.'

Destiny sighed and stood up, leaning against the wall behind her, "No, don't apologize. I'm supposed to be here for you. I'm glad to be here for you. I'm just- just not good at comforting people... I'm a bit awkward in this area..." She looked up at him, slightly smiling, "Please, keep talking."

Dominic hesitated for a moment before continuing.
'These things...they keep me up at night. My friends mean everything to me but I keep getting them hurt' He frowned and sat down on the floor, curling up his knees to his chest.
'And what if it keeps happening? What if I'm not strong enough when it really matters?' He mumbled, 'What if...what if I get someone killed?'

Destiny jumped forward, "No! No, don't say that, Dom! You won't get anyone killed! You won't!"
She frowned, "Just because you may mess up, don't mean you'll get anyone killed like that! Look, there's always going to be something wrong in your life.
"I know what it's like to not be able to sleep...
"You're strong, Dom. Stronger than you know. I don't know what else to say.. Just know that no matter what you think, what you do... You can always talk to me.."

Dominic stared at her for a moment before letting out a short sigh and smiling warmly at her.
'I know.' He said and walked over to Destiny before giving her a kiss on the forehead. 'Thank you' He said softly with a smile, 'You don't need to say anything to me hun. Hearing me out is more than enough. I think if I discussed this with any of my friends and they would just freak out.'

Destiny smiled and whispered, "That's because they're not as metal as I am."
With a sigh, she reached her hand down and wrapped her fingers with his, staring at his hands and gently tapping them.
"You've still got more to talk about, Dom. You should probably get it out of your system.."

He squeezed her hand before pulling back and pulling out the two letters from earlier.
'Well all that remains is the weird and the...' He hesitated for a moment as he tried to find the right word to describe it. In the end he realized he couldn't. '...well, we'll get to that one later.'
He held out a post card that had a big target on it with an arrow sticking out of it. Next to the target was a single sentence.


'This came the day after I kissed you.' He said and stared at it with wonder before scratching his head, 'Been meaning to show you it sooner. Any idea what it means?'

Destiny shook her head, confused and amused at the same time.
"What in the world is that supposed to mean? I s'pose some wise crack about you being with me..."

'I guess but...what does it mean bulls eye?' Dominic asked as he glanced over the card. he had checked it a hundred times but it didn't seem out of the ordinary. It was a simple paper card.
'I thought it could have been Dad but he sent me a letter on the same day. So it seems a bit weird for him to send two letters.' Dominic said, 'And it can't have been from my auntie. We've never spoken and I doubt she'd even like me if we met.'

Destiny was bewildered, "I have absolutely no idea."
Her eye brows raised, "You're auntie? What does she have anything to do with this?"
She was extremely curious about these cards. His words hit her, "Your dad sent you a card? What'd it say?"

'Artemis.' Dominic answered, 'Never met her. Apparently she runs a band of all girl hunters that roam the world tracking down monsters. Shes not too keen on immature boys.' He said before shrugging, 'I guess she'd hate me on sight.'
'As for my Dad...well he sent me a card telling me to embrace the shirt.' Dominic said before pulling open his jacket to reveal with orange camp half blood T-shirt. 'Told me I was a hero and I deserved to wear it. Haven't heard from him since but...I don't care. It meant the world to me.'