Percy's POV
"Well?" I ask in anticipation as the moon sits above the lake, significantly more clearer as it reflects off the water.
"A bit impatient aren't you?" - Melanie
"I mean we've been freezing outside for quite sometime, I'd like to be in a place more civilized yes" My light hearted tone making her laugh knowing I'm powerless here no matter how much I beg for this supposed natural occurrence. Almost as if on cue with the thought the water begins to sway, back and forth like ocean waves. The reflection of the moon beginning to fade as the water sparkles with gleaming stars, opening up a gap in the lake.
"Are we supposed to...jump?" Thomas' face dropping, fully aware of his fear of heights now coming into play here
"Yup!" Melanie cheers and dives head first into the dark pit, her pack members following one by one again...head first.
"WEEEEEEEEE!" Yasmine's scream of joy brushing past my ears as she swan dives ahead of us. I turn my head to see Thomas' legs turning completely jelly but a proud Athena walking towards him.
"It's okay you don't have to jump" She calmly tells him
"I don't?" He asks questionably but still uneased
"Yeah! I'll just tie you up!" She announces and without warning strands him up in a cocoon once again, "He's never gonna catch a break is he..." I sigh with the rhetorical question
"We don't have much to lose other than time, plus he's used to it by now. See ya down there" Athena leaps in with the poor Thomas being held hostage.
"Together?" Adam asks me as he extends his hand, the entrance clearly closing after such a brief window of it being open
"Together" I call out to him, grabbing his hand as he throws me ahead of him, "TRAITOR!" I jokingly put up my middle fingers as he falls like a starfish above me, laughing like a fool to himself. The image of him suddenly being cut from my sight as I fall in a black void like space, "I can't even tell if I'm still falling down" My words being unheard by my own ears but instead appearing on the space around me in the shape of stars, glittering as they lose their form and fall alongside me.
"I've been expecting you" A powerful feminine voice presents herself
"Huh?" I ask in confusion but my words once more taking a magical form, losing their shape quicker this time as they reform into the shape of letters. The letters chiming with each movement.
"You may call me, The Lady of the Lake. Over the years I've lost my physical form, only being able to provide a space for those pure of heart. Find me, I know you can do it"
The sentences carrying a sense of peace with them oddly comforting in it's own way. A bright light opening up from under me as it reveals a place I can only describe as an ethereal appearance, the water from the lake being held up like the roof of a cave and the floor carrying an equally pure aquatic blue...floor...I'm still falling. My urge to scream nearly bursting out of me but I swallow my pride and prepare my body to just squish. Spotting Yasmine, Athena and the rest of them already on the ground and completely fine slightly easing my worries but just adding to my confusion.
"Percy land face first!" One of them yells but I have no time to even consider what emotion I should react with, my body hitting the floor but immediately rising back up like a rubber ball...it's soft, bouncy like a bed but nobody felt the need to tell me, "I could of died from a heart attack before even hitting it but absolutely none of you thought to inform me of that!?" I spit out while continuing to bounce, slowly losing height with each rebound.
"You lived, hush and let's get you to our elder." - Melanie
"What took you so long?" Adam's voice coming from behind me as I turn to face him
"Why'd you go so fast?" I counter with another question
"I asked first, don't make me squeeze it out of you" He holds his arms out, ready for a bear hug but I hold my hands up in a sign of peace which slows down his progression towards me.
"I got delayed or something by a woman, she was speaking to me briefly but then started using my own words to write out some lines"
"Oh so you truly came? I had faith in our elder but she's known to play the fool sometimes for her own humour." A delicate voice speaks over us, changing the tone of the conversation with her presence alone.
"Ma'am!" The pack members say in unison as they bow to the ground. Her pure white dress matching her moon white hair with two braids twisting down from either side of her ears, against her caramel skin. Leaving the rest of her curly hair to naturally flow down her back, "Alpha Yue, these peop-" Melanie being interrupted by the newly introduced Alpha embracing her. "For the last time, we're mates. Stop formally speaking to me, and I'm well aware of who these individuals are"
Adam, Athena and Yue all flicking between to a yellow hue in recognition of each other. "Boy, you said you heard a voice? I believe who you spoke to was the protector of this cursed zone."
"Cursed zone? It seems oddly peaceful here...where's the curse in this harmony?" Adam asks in curiosity, copying Yue's actions to Melanie and holding me against him.
"Not all cursed zones are bad, I understand the shock in your tone however. The origins of who they imitate is usually the deciding factor for the tone they replicate. We know you wish to ask questions, and we do indeed have the answers for you. Come follow us" Yue's words holding a calming sense of trust with them, leaving us with no doubts to her status as an Alpha.
-
"Do you all need the place to stay, or will you be departing right after?" - Yue
"Wouldn't we need to wait for the full cycle of the moon in order to leave?" - Athena
"No, that's only for the entrance. The exit is accessible at anytime, although can be draining for the average wolf."
"We'll stay for the day and depart the following day, I believe we should be making our way back to Daybreak once we've spent our time here. Right?" Athena turns to us to confirm the plans in which we have no problems with it.
"I'll have some rooms prepared, please take a rest if you need it while the food is prepared" Yue gestures to a grand table that I failed to notice, crystal clear with countless places to sit.
"Wow, is this how you all normally eat? It's nothing like our pack" I refer to the messy canteen we have back at Daybreak as everyone leaps over each other for food like wild pigeons.
"We take pride in our bond together, we always eat as one. There aren't any problems with that is there?" Yue looking slightly concerned at the way I compared the packs, completely foreign to her.
"No no it's perfectly fine with us. Let us know when it's ready, thanks for everything"
"It's our pleasure to be helping you, don't worry" Her welcoming tone once again soothing over us, if someone were to underestimate her I'd completely understand.