Still Got Scars (Bella Donna)

[Daphne Scotts]

The nightmares returned.

Daphne thought they had stopped. They stopped during that quest with Marius, but once they returned to camp... they started up again. She didn't want to tell her... boyfriend. Marius was her boyfriend now. After being best friends for so long, it was weird for her to call him her boyfriend. But anyway, she didn't want to worry him. He finally achieved a bit of mental peace after that quest that he deserved to be not bothered by her nightmares.

She woke herself up screaming again as she bolted up in her bed. Her breathing was ragged and she was covered in a cold sweat. He was there again and her dreams seemed to hold onto how his face twisted into that evil smile before he kidnapped her and took her to Nevada only to be possessed by that... that thing. Daphne shook at the thought. It only happened in this cabin in the main room. There was no way she was getting more sleep tonight. At least, not like this. So she changed into her workout clothes and grabbed her sword before heading out to the arena.

Punishing a dummy sounded good at the moment and hopefully would exhaust her that she could fall back asleep. Once she was at the arena, she was whacking at a dummy. She wasn't really focusing on technique or anything. She just needed to wear herself out so she could go back to sleep.

[Deleted]

Her first night back…


How could anyone sleep when feeling such excitement and thrill for being home again?

How could anyone sleep knowing that their lives were taking on a new and exhilarating path the likes of which they had only dreamed of before?

Well it also kinda helped that she was a daughter of the night. It was her element after all. Bella Donna Beadreaux and all the children of Nyx felt more alive when the sun set, it was their nature, it was in their blood quite literally but this night it wasn’t the dark sky dotted with millions of twinkling stars like diamonds on an ebony blanket or the beautiful shining moon overhead, the jewel of the heavens. It wasn’t the chill breeze flowing off the lake or the sounds of nocturnal animals (and monsters) moving about in the forest.

No… Bella Donna was home for the first time in what felt like forever.

She had not stepped foot into Camp Half-Blood since she had reached the age of adulthood and she had enjoyed her time since traveling the globe and learning to live in the outside world but the memories of her time as a camper here were the most cherished of her life. For the most part she had practically grown up here, she had learned what it meant to be a Demigod and what it was to have a higher purpose. She had never been as happy as she was as a member of Camp Half-Blood except perhaps her days with her brother. In many ways it was in her brother Nicholas’ memory that she had become the kind of person she was, a protector, a defender, a care giver and in many ways a teacher. She had as a camper always looked out for those that were not fully accepted, the outcasts and misfits, those that others feared or shunned. She stood up for those that could not stand up for themselves and had worked hard to not only be a successful warrior but a good person over all. All children of the night wrestled with darkness inside them, a darkness that could turn them into beasts far worse than the monsters demigods fought on a regular basis. The Night is beautiful and mysterious but also cold and dangerous. Many children of Nyx were known to fall to the darker side of their natures, to take on the evil side of their heritage and it had always been something that Bella Donna feared and worked hard to negate in herself. Was she perfect? Had she never allowed herself to sink into that shadowy place? No, she could not say that… Her greatest shame stemmed from the times she could not help or even openly allowed that darkness to take her but it was not something she would ever allow a permanent hold in her heart. It was a struggle but one she has thus far borne with dignity and strength. It was that very strength she hoped to impart to the campers under her care now. Chiron was placing a lot of trust in her and she would not disappoint her greatest mentor and role model. She would make him proud and prove she was worthy to someday be as great and legendary a trainer of heroes as he.

So how could she possibly sleep?

Easy answer…

Pulling on her favourite jogging pants and a hoodie Bella Donna made her way out, the night invigorating her even more as she looked around at the place she loved so much. Every inch of this camp was familiar to her, from the Amphitheater to the Big House and all the way down to the strawberry fields but the place she remembered most fondly was and always would be the Arena. With a white and speckled Sabertooth Tiger cub bounding after her she moved out towards her new classroom at a brisk jog. She needed to work off some of the energy and excitement she was feeling, a combat session would do the trick, it always had in the past however she had certainly not expected to come upon the scene of aggression playing out.

She stood for a moment in the shadows as she watched a young woman busting into a combat dummy with a seeming blind rage. Her anger, her clear need to expend pent up aggression could be felt as tangibly as late night mist. Bella could see this was no practice session, there was no technique, no skill and no thought to the attacks… this girl was troubled that more than anything was clear and Bella was unsure if she should interject or just allow her to spend her rage.

The choice though was taken out of her hands. Ever playful and energetic Jasmine bounded forward from the dark with a cute little roar. Knowing well the difference between play and actual combat the kitten, the approximate size of a bulldog, did not transform into its fierce adult form but instead leapt towards Daphne feet and then ran around her a few times squeaking and chuffing, a tigers show of affection. The only signs that made it clear to anyone that this was not a normal tiger cub were its glowing green eyes, its long saber teeth and the way it flickered now and then, one moment appearing as a full cub the next only a shimmering skeleton . Jasmine was a Sparti, a creature of bone reanimated but not violent instead rather loving and playful as it bounded around the girl.

[Daphne Scotts]

Daphne was so focused on wearing herself out that she didn't pay attention to her surroundings. All she cared about was whacking this dummy to death, which she imagined as him. He was supposed to be dead the first time around. Why did he come back? Daphne punctuated these thoughts with a swing of her sword. He left with that Harper girl... Harper... Achilles... She screamed as she plunged her sword into the gut of the dummy. Her chest heaved as she leaned against it. Achilles. She hadn't thought of her first love in forever. Her first heartbreak. Why now? She closed her eyes slightly for a bit before she felt something jump on her feet.

She opened her eyes just in time to see a striped tail go out of sight. "What the..." she muttered as she straightened up and took a step back. Running around her was a tiger cub. Daphne knitted her eyebrows together before a hand went up to her hair to push it out of her face. "I must be hallucinating," she said as she kept looking down at the tiger cub at her feet.

[Deleted]

Bella Donna was concerned for the girl. It was only natural to feel worried about her upon seeing how truly rage filled she was, how she was obviously suffering but the daughter of Nyx also could not help but smile as she watched the Sabertooth Tiger kitten bound out and leap around the young campers feet. The expression on Daphne’s face was after all rather priceless in its confusion. Jasmine too could sense Daphne’s pain just as palpably, she growled at the girl playfully and scampered between her legs the moment she was noticed then back around and batted at the sword in Daphne’s hand with an outstretched paw. “Rrrrrrowrrrr” Her little roar was strong and loud enough to fill the arena but it was obviously not aggressive especially as it was followed with the kitten moving again between the girls legs to rub its body like any cat would along her right leg.



“Not at all…” Bella Donna finally intoned from the dark as she stepped a few paces closer. The shadows naturally clung to her body making her harder to see even as she approached but her violet eyes, a trait that man children of the night, possessed a slight glimmer to them. “…Jasmine may not be alive in the technical sense but she is far from a hallucination.” Her voice rang out gently as she looked between the girl and her pet which was now trying to chew on Daphne’s shoe laces. The kitten glimmered for a moment becoming a skeleton, its natural state, and then returned once more to appearing as a flesh and blood baby tiger. “Sorry… she likes shoes… I can’t own any nice shoes they just get eaten.” Bella laughed lightly and sighed. “Come on you little scamp…. Jasmine leave her alone…” She called out in an amused but authoritative tone. Jasmine stopped chewing on the show laces for a moment but only looked in Bella’s direction, yawned and then resumed. “…and when she gets her mind set on something she does not listen very well.”



Slowly Bella continued forward till finally she was in enough light to be clear for the girl to see. She flashed Daphne a gentle and concerned smile, looking between her and the dummy that the girl had just butchered. “Are you ok?” She asked with true concern before kneeling down and lightly scratching the floor with her black painted nails. Jasmine’s ears and eyes immediately perked at the sound and she bounded over towards her owner. Bella picked the tiger kitten up with a huff, the sparti was certainly not all that small or light despite being more bone and shade than anything. The kitten licked Bella’s face enthusiastically then nuzzled its head into her neck and started to purr so loudly it literally filled the room with a dull undertone of sound. “My name is Bella Donna…” She offered politely. “Bella Donna Boudreaux. I was a camper here once, now I am a councillor and the new combat trainer. I know what its like… sometimes…” She looked to the dummy again. “…sometimes you just need to blow off steam. I get it… but its also good to talk…”

[Daphne Scotts]

Daphne was still confused at the little tiger running around at her feet and rawring and rubbing up against her. It was acting like a normal cat, but... it was a tiger cub? Daphne was almost convinced she worked herself up and she was exhausted to the point of hallucinating. She sharply lifted her head as she heard a voice. Her mind immediately went back to that night in her cabin and how his voice was all over, but she couldn't see him. This voice was different, a bit softer, but it still made Daphne's heart beat in her chest. She looked around before she made eye contact with a pair of violet eyes. "Not alive?" she asked only to get distracted by the cub tugging on her shoelaces. "Hey!" she said as she looked down at the cub and tugged away her shoe from it.

She looked up as the girl finally appeared... more like materialized in front of her and called away the cub from her feet. Are you okay? Daphne knew the answer to that, but wasn't sure if she wanted to bother a stranger with her woes. She didn't say anything until the girl introduced herself, but she felt herself become a little guarded. "I'm Daphne," she said shortly as Bella Donna continued to introduce herself.

"You're a Nyx kid..." Daphne said as she crossed her arms and looked down at her feet. "Chiron mentioned you'd be coming at our last cabin leader meeting." She sighed loudly as she pushed her hair out of her face with one hand and let her other arm drop. "You might as well know. Everyone else knows because of the rumors that fly around." She gestured to herself. "I'm what you would call the camp freak around here. I have nightmares. Vivid nightmares. A few years ago, I was kidnapped by Xenos, a Nyx kid, and was taken to Nevada only to have my body possessed by a.... shadow thing." She felt chills run down her spine as the memory hit her. "I was possessed for a few weeks, trying to fight that thing. I still have nightmares from them." She nodded her head towards the dummy. "That's what I do when I wake up from them and can't sleep. Chiron has to replace another dummy."

[Deleted]

“A Nyx kid?” Bella chuckled a little as she ran her hand along the back of the large kittens back gently and lovingly. “Oui you could call me that. Not so much a kid any more but I am a daughter of the night.” Her thick French accent She could tell instinctively that this made the girl in her presence uncomfortable. That wasn’t abnormal. Many people were afraid of the dark and the night, all of which her mother was and Nyx’s children embodied. Even the Olympians feared Nyx so much so that they never took retribution against her children if they ever offended them. That made the children of Nyx in a way privileged and immune to all but perhaps the fates. Sometimes that went to ‘Nyx kid’s’ heads but not Bella. She had very little respect for the gods but she didn’t go out of her way to tick them off unless they really got on her nerves. She could understand the fear this girl seemed to have towards her on an intuitive level but it also seemed to be deeper than the normal scared of the dark type fear.



Bella nodded as the girl spoke of Chiron mentioning her at the last camp meeting. That was good for it meant her presence would not be a total surprise to all of the campers as they came from combat training. Her friend Anna, daughter of Ares, the former combat trainer had only just died not a week ago and had asked that Bella Donna be contacted to take over the position. Bella was to say the least honored but she knew already, even before the girl went into her story that she had a long road ahead of her. She wasn’t sure people would take a non-Ares or non-Athena child seriously as a combat trainer and she also worried that the campers would not trust her because of her parentage.



This girls fears though… they went much deeper, her reason feel uncomfortable in her presence far more warranted.



“Mon Dieu!” To say the least Bella Donna was disgusted… sickened to her core by the tale that this young woman had to tell. It was not so much surprising as tragic. Nyx children always walked the edge of darkness within their souls. Many could not stand against that darkness and became monsters far worse than those demigods fought on a regular basis. It was however never easy to hear of one of her half siblings falling so and becoming so malevolent. Bella Donna looked between the dummy and the girl. She could now understand the rage and the fear all too well. The physical, emotional and mental abuse she had gone through was unspeakable, screaming from nightmares and taking aggressions out on a combat dummy it was only natural. “I… I am so sorry…” It wasn’t she who had committed these atrocities but who else could apologize but one who shared the blood of this Xenos? What else could she say? “Not all children of the night are monsters like that. We all walk a thin line between good and evil because of the darkness inside of us but it does not take all of us. What Xenos did was unacceptable… but…” She took a step back to make sure that there was acceptable and comfortable space between them for her. “…you can trust me. I won’t hurt you. I am here to help the campers, to teach them.”



She paused a moment to allow this girl to take her words in. She could see the fear and the hate in Daphne’s eyes, the way she stood, the way she breathed. “You are not a freak… no matter what has happened to you, no matter how you cope… don’t call yourself a freak and don’t let others label you as such.” Her words were clear and eloquent even with her thick French accent which was far different than what most campers were used to hearing. “If you want I can try and help teach you how to cope with your pain and your fear… it’s the least I can do for what one of mes frères has done to you. What is your name?”

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Translation:

Oui – Yes

Mon Dieu! – My God!

mes frères – my brothers

[Daphne Scotts]

Daphne crossed her arms as she looked down at the feet. Awkward barely scrapped the surface what she felt at the moment. She figured Chiron wouldn't tell her. Why would he? There was plenty of nutcases running around camp with more severe problems than the vivid nightmares that Daphne had. But being around a child of the night didn't help how she felt either. Desdemona tried to patch things between her and the cabin, but it didn't work. What difference would Bella Donna make?

She looked up at Bella Donna as she apologized. She blinked a couple of times before she plainly spoke, "I trust Chiron's decision for you to be in this position. I hope you understand why I don't trust you now. Maybe eventually, but not now." She took deep, steady breaths as she looked at the woman in front of her. "I had a therapist who tried to help me... but that didn't end up so well..." She cringed at the memory. She was used and manipulated so many times in the past. She wanted to believe what Bella Donna was saying, but at the same time, she didn't want to be that vulnerable again.

"Daphne," she said when she was asked her name. "Daphne Scotts, daughter of Zeus."

[Deleted]

She could totally understand the pain and mistrust that this girl was feeling. She could very well see where she was coming from and knew full well what a member of her extended family could do to a person were they to give in to the darkness inside. Nyx children had a very powerful deity for a parent. The night, Nyx in Greek, Nut in Egypt, Nòtt of the Asgardians… and so many other names and personas which all embodied the primordial Goddess of the Night that was born from chaos before man or even the universe itself had been formed. All the Gods feared Nyx, not only for her age but for the darkness she could embody if she so chose. Night could be wonderful, beautiful, peaceful and gentle but it could also be fear filled, dangerous and deadly. Children of the Night wrestled with the aspects all of the time and more often than not succumbed to the darkness in their souls. What this young woman had experienced… yes Bella could understand it.



“A pleasure to meet you Miss Scotts.” Bella didn’t offer her hand as she might others for she knew that would only make Daphne feel more uncomfortable and she would probably shy away. Instead she moved towards some of the seats off to the side of this arena configuration and sat down, patting beside her in a clear call for Jasmine to stop romping around Daphne and come to her. The Sabertooth Tiger kitten ran around Daphne a few more times then darted towards Bella, bounding up into the seat beside her and laying its large head down in her lap. The undead cats purr was loud and echoing in the arena with only the three of them inhabiting it at the moment. “The world is a hard place Miss Scotts. Harder on some people than others. I know… I have lost much myself.” Her thick French accent only accentuated her words and the sad tone she took as she thought of her brother whom had disappeared in her defence so long ago, of friends who had died on quests, of a step-family that hated her for what she was and most recently of her best friend Anna’s death as combat instructor here at the camp. She had suffered her fare share of tortures as well… but perhaps nothing compared to what this young girl had. She could relate but only imagine what lasting scars she struggled with every day. “You are strong though… that much is clear.” She now spoke encouragingly while looking down at Jasmine and lightly scratching behind the tiger’s ears then slowly her deep violet eyes moved back up to Daphne with all do seriousness. “You have been through pain and manipulation so few can imagine and even fewer could walk away from. You still suffer now from your dreams and memories yet you haven’t given in to the pain. You vent your anger, your fear and your pain into these…” She looked to the sparring dummy and sighed. “…training sessions… we will call them. You continue to try and move forward instead of letting the horrible things you have experienced define who you are. You are incredibly strong and brave and you impress me. I think with work and trust, maybe not in me if that does not make you feel secure, but in friends whom you know can and will stand by you, you will come out of this an even stronger and more confident person.” Bella was being completely honest with the girl. Daphne was a daughter of Zeus and though Bella herself had very little respect for the so called King of the Greek Gods she could see a true strength of spirit and character in this girl, something to be respected and admired.

[Daphne Scotts]

Daphne only nodded her head when Bella Donna said it was a pleasure. Was it really? She watched silently as Bella Donna moved over to the seats and called her cat. Daphne looked down at he feet just in time to see the little furball romp away from her and towards its owner. She looked back up at Bella Donna and pressed her lips together as she looked at her. The world is a hard place. She didn't need to tell her that. She already knew. She already lost her friends and her first love and she knew deep down she was scared to lose Marius too, especially after all they went through together on that quest.

Daphne was completely lost in her thoughts before something caught her off guard and made her look at Bella Donna with a confused face. You are strong though… that much is clear. She barely met her and she already had that assumption? She pressed her lips together as she looked and listened to Bella Donna. Maybe she was quick to judge and quick to mistrust her. She took a couple of deep breaths as she slowly nodded her head. "Thank you," she said as a slight blush crept onto her face. "Maybe I'll find you to help me train? I mean... the Ares cabin does get boring after a while... there's only so much butt kicking you can do to a cabin, you know?"

[Deleted]

Perhaps she was a bit of an assuming person but Bella had always had a knack for reading people even if she had just met them. It wasn’t a power or anything having to do with her Demi-God heritage, it was merely just something about her. It didn’t take long for the daughter of Nyx to assess someone on a deeper level if she was able to talk to them for a bit. To this end she felt very sure her assessment of Daphne was correct. The girl was a survivor and would be all the stronger when she was able to work through the bad memories and her fears. She could even be a leader, it was after all in her blood. She could be a rock in a sea of chaos and could help secure a great future if she could come to terms with the ghosts that haunted her. Well maybe that was a bit dramatic but Bella could see it that way none the less.



“You are welcome…” She smiled and as she lightly ran her fingers along the back of the baby tiger. Jasmine gently rolled over onto her back then and nudged Bella’s hand to give her a belly rub. At this she smiled and relented scratching along the sleep belly of the undead cat only stopping in the moments that the sparti’s body glimmered and became nothing but a living skeleton then returned to flesh and blood. Looking back to Daphne she nodded to the girls semi-request. “If you feel you can be around me I would be glad to help you with your training.” She smirked at the girls comment of butt kicking the Ares cabin. “When I was a camper myself I trained with the Ares, Athena and Apollo cabins a great deal. They accepted me more so than any other cabins. I was a natural at combat and in time even my best friend was a child of Ares.” She smiled though a little sadly as she remembered Anna who had been the camps lead combat trainer since they ‘graduated’ and how she had only just recently died in an accident. “I learned a lot from them, and from other cabins as well. I think to be the best you need to learn as much as you can in any field. You may never master them all but if you have some knowledge about multiple things at least you don’t lack for some understanding.” She looked to Daphne again having imparted her first bit of advice to a camper since taking up this counselling position. “My first lesson to you if you want is to pick your path and follow it… and by follow it I mean in every direction it leads you. A persons path in life will branch off into many roads. Only following one leads to, in my opinion, a dead end. If you follow them all then your experiences will be many and what you will learn from them will be varied.” In this respect she was counselling about combat but also life in general for the idea applied to both. In combat one could pick their preferred style, be it hand to hand, melee or long range and they could perfect their style becoming absolutely proficient. However if they didn’t at least have some skill and understanding in the others if situations arose where they had to rely on those skills then they would find themselves lacking. The same went for life in general. To learn as much as you can even if you have a set path for yourself was best.



“Ah mes dieux… I do ramble though sometimes don’t I?” She exclaimed and laughed at herself her thick French accent and lapse into her native language making her feel silly. “I will be putting up a sheet for campers to sign up for privet classes. If you feel you can trust me enough, and there is no pressure to do so, then feel free to put your name down and we can schedule something as soon as you like.” She looked to the dummy then, how battered and busted up it was from the vicious assault levied against it. “However… know that when I teach I am serious. I will push you, I won’t make it easy on you. You won’t be in any great danger but you won’t always be fighting against inanimate dummies, you won’t always clearly see your goals. I’m easy to get along with but I take teaching seriously and know that you won’t learn anything if I just go by the rulebook. You might find you have to fight some of your greater fears…”


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Translation:

mes dieux – my gods

[Daphne Scotts]

Daphne smiled sheepishly and nodded her head in agreement as Bella Donna said she rambled on too much. Not that Daphne didn’t mind the rambling. There was some sage advice in there. Going down all the paths? Daphne felt like she was thrown down all the different paths of life by force. But she understood what the point was. If Daphne didn’t stray off that one path she began with, she wouldn’t have grown as a person. She grew as a person for worse more than for better, but it still shaped her.

But she pulled herself out of her thoughts once Bella Donna mentioned about sign ups for training sessions. Daphne pressed her lips together as she thought about it. Would she actually sign up for a session? She hadn’t been properly trained by anyone since her ex, Achilles, was still at camp. Gods, that was years ago for her. Maybe she was a little bit rusty. She glanced over at the dummy and cringed a bit when she saw she did to it. A little bit rusty was an understatement.

She turned back to Bella Donna and slowly nodded her head. “I’ll… I’ll think about it,” she said. She would make up her mind, eventually, but that wasn’t going to be tonight, especially since she was finally feeling the effects of her dummy beating hit her. She had to stifle a yawn as she shook her head. “Excuse me… I think I should be heading back to my cabin. I think I can sleep a little bit better now.”

[Deleted]

By no means was Bella foolish enough to think that Daphne would be ok with her walking her back to her cabin. The girl seemed a little more at ease in her presence but how she had reacted concerning the offer of signing up for classes with her made it perfectly clear they had a long way to go. That said however the camp did have rules about being out after dark for most campers. Nyx children were exempt do to the natural tendency to be more active darning night due to their parentage. When there were Hunters of Artimis around they too were exempt due to the connection of their patron goddess and the moon. Beyond this, at least to Bella Donna’s recollection you needed special permission to be out after dark what with Argos and the harpies on patrol. “Alright… Get some rest but please allow Jasmine to go with you.” She shook the Sabertooth Tiger kitten causing her to growl at being awakened from her semi-sleeping state and comfortable laying position on Bella’s lap. “She does not seem like lots but she is more than meets the eye. I would feel better if she escorted you back to your cabin. That way at least the Harpies and Argos will know you had my ‘permission’ to be out.” She smirked and made air quotes as she said the word permission. This way if she was caught out of bed after dark she would not be reprimanded and Bella could then say that it was allowed by her.



However her being caught by Argos or the Harpies was not her biggest concern…



Something did not feel right around camp. Chiron had warned her on her first day back that though things seemed peaceful there was something unseen going on. Daphne’s stories of her capture and torture, though having happened some time ago, unnerved Bella Donna some. Things like that just didn’t happen when she was a camper. Sure there were stories of the past where campers had gone bad like the legendary Luke Castellan who had betrayed the camp to become a servant and eventual host to the Titan Lord Kronos or the daughter of Aphrodite Silena Beauregard who had unwittingly become a spy for the Titans during the War for Manhattan but had died redeeming herself. Those though had all happened during the days of the legendary Percy Jackson, turbulent times when the fate of the world had been the balance. Bella had only ever participated in one such quest against a Titan’s resurrection herself and beyond that and a few other large battles which campers during her time had taken part in there had been no such perilous times such as the Second Titan War. Bella could not say such bad times were returning but… things just didn’t seem right. “Please…” She asked gently and nudged Jasmine to leap down from her lap and moved to rub against Daphne’s legs. “It would make me feel better.”

[Daphne Scotts]

Daphne was about to head to bed when she was caught off-guard by Bella Donna's request to take her cat with her. If it could be considered a cat. Daphne raised an eyebrow at the creature before she turned back to Bella Donna. She had no doubt Chiron gave her the lowdown of everything else important at camp. These were dark times with the Usurpers causing chaos within camp and out of it. They caused trouble during the quest she was on with Marius, but it was almost like she couldn't trust anyone here. But Chiron trusted the Nyx girl, so Daphne trusted his judgement at least.

She slowly nodded her head to Bella Donna, agreeing to her terms. "Okay. Jasmine can come with." She was shifted a bit as the cat rubbed up against her legs. She looked down at the creature before looking back up at its owner. "So... I guess I'll see you around?" she asked with a hint of caution in her voice. She wanted to trust again, but not be vulnerable at the same time. She nodded her head before she walked out of the arena with Jasmine following by her side.