What Lies Beneath [Rhod]

[Jack Travidi]

<sub>Jack Travidi was used to having nightmares. Tonight was no exception, especially with the lack of a certain blonde in his bed. No, not in that way, you perv. He likes cuddling.

The war had finally come. The snow and ice were gone, a battle occurring on the grounds surrounding Camp Half-Blood. It would decide which side would be housed at the Camp, who would use it to their advantage. Jack wasn't sure which side he was on, but it wasn't important. One simple fact was, though.

Someone had raised the dead.

It hadn't affected Jack much until he'd heard one voice ringing out clear through the air. He himself remembered ending the grotesque sound as well as the horrid excuse for a man who called that sound his voice. "Come here, boy!" came the sinister sound. Jack's father had commonly been drunk when using this phrase, but it appeared that the man remembered his death. Jack turned to face him, worry crossing his face. He wanted this man gone. He was supposed to die and stay dead. None of this coming back to life shit. That was just supposed to be some irrational fear.

But no. Now Jack's own father stood before him and he froze in fear, that initial reaction from all those years ago still ingrained in his bones. It seemed Jack couldn't escape his guilt or fear even in sleep...

Of course, Jack the Great and Terrible didn't have nightmares. Not as far as everyone else was concerned. No one needed to know his little secret. Or his big secrets. As such, he did not toss and turn. He was used to the nightmares, and had become accustomed to staying on his stomach throughout the night.

...yes, he frowns in his sleep. We've been over this: Jack is never happy.</sub>

[Mindy Omnis]

<sup>If Jack thought he was the only one plagued by nightmares, he would be sadly mistaken.

Although half-awake daymares were really more of Arianrhod's problem, the nightmares that she did have were ugly and very upsetting. Not being used to such frequent nightmares, the sleeping blonde in the bunk above Jack had somehow managed to turn all the way around and burrow herself into the corner of what would usually be the foot of her bed. Occasionally she would mutter something sharply, along the lines of "'s not m'faul'"</sup>[/color] or "but that's too many!"[/color]

Much like her habit of snoring, Rhod was quietly unaware of her habit of talking in her sleep, and just as ready to deny it.

This time it appeared to be beneficial, however, since with a sudden muffled exclamation, Arianrhod jerked sharply and her eyes flew open. She took a moment to look around in a mild state of panic, not having expected to wake up from the vantage point that she did, and then relaxed when she realized that she was, in fact, still in the Athena cabin. No evil demon people (like Aimée, for example) had kidnapped her away to the Hermes cabin. It was okay.

Except for the fact that she had quite obviously had a nightmare and did not quite remember what it was about. But Arianrhod ignored this small snag in her plan (sleep), choosing instead to crawl back over to the part of the bed she usually slept in and doze off.

... well, scratch the 'doze off' bit. After the fourth time in as many minutes that she found herself jumping at a sound that wasn't there, Arianrhod sat up, groggily rubbing her eyes. There was only one way to fix this besides knocking herself out with cold medicine.

And that, children, is why Arianrhod found herself shaking Jack's shoulder with no clear idea of exactly why.

"Jack?"[/color] she called in a low whisper, despite the fact that there was no one else to disturb in the cabin. "Cold. Can't sleep. Help?"[/color]

Behold, as the wild and utterly grammatical Rhod sinks to monosyllables.[/sup]

[Jack Travidi]

<sub>Jack rolled over as he was awakened from his own nightmare. It took him a moment to remember that he was not in fact ten, nor was he searching frantically for somewhere to hide from his drunk father. He wasn't in the forest fighting the member of the undead as part of a battle for the camp, nor was he trying feebly to remember even the most basic of spells, his years of hard work and training gone. No, Jack was in his usual bunk in the Athena Cabin, being shaken awake by Arianrhod.

"Rhod?" he mumbled, half-sleep making him... stupid. Seriously, who else would it be?

After taking a moment to process what she said - he's rather dense when half asleep - he simply reached out to pull her under the covers next to him, moving over as he did so. "Better?" Well, the answer obviously wasn't very important, as Jack started dozing off immediately, to a much less nightmare filled sleep. He didn't know why, but Arianrhod's presence seemed to keep the nightmares away, as if having someone there meant that he wasn't alone and that someone understood. Or maybe it was just feeling like someone cared.

No... no one really understood, not that Jack ever gave anyone the chance, and no one really cared. Maybe he was just always cold. And he needs someone to keep him warm.

...for the sake of my sanity - my head hurts when he thinks himself in circles- we'll just stick to the truth. You know, feeling like someone actually cares. Some wizards just aren't used to it.</sub>