Sonic and Tails had brought the tents. The others brought their own blankets and pillows. They managed to make things comfortable.

At 7 PM, they had set up a fire with Blaze's magic, and were talking strategy.

"What we need is information." Amy insisted. "We don't know this guy's weaknesses or what he can do."

Sonic nodded. "In the morning, we split into teams. We'll search the forest for anything that could help."

"For now," Shadow said. "Thou mortals should'st focus on sleep. I shall patrol the woods."

"I suggest rotations alongside patrol." Knuckles suggested. "Double security."

With that, rotation schedules were divided.

Afterwards, everything seemed more relaxed. They broke out some food and snacks they'd been saving and talked. Eventually, the conversations started steering toward ghost stories as the night grew darker.

"And with a ghastly moan, the ghost reached toward the man. 'You took them from me...' She cried, reaching into his sockets and taking her eyes back."

Everyone looked at Rosey, horrified. Cream was hiding behind her hands and Tails was gaping so much, Sonic was sure he'd catch a fly or spark from the fire. Blaze just grimaced, averting her eyes away from the others.

"Eye horror- the best kind." Rosey hummed, shrugging at their reactions. Everyone else seemed to agree in some way.

After that, they decided that bed was probably good- mainly to avoid Rosey telling anymore stories. Rouge stayed up for the first rotation.

She found it incredibly boring. It wasn't like there was anything happening around them. Still, the stars shined like gems and the wind blew calmly, ruffling her white hair.

Thirty minutes in, she heard a voice. "Hi."

Rouge glanced over to the voice and smiled. She leaned back, letting her shoulder rest on Knuckles'. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" She asked teasingly.

"Just met Athena. Can anyone sleep after that?" He asked.

The Bat glanced over to the tents, peeking inside. "The others seem to be doing an awfully good job." She looked back over to him. Knuckles just laughed slightly at that.

"Not Scourge." He mentioned, his voice quieter. "Just been staring at the tent."

Rouge sighed, sitting up. "Can't blame the kid." She said, as if they weren't the same age. "Imagine going into that temple, day after day, waiting for a response from your own mother. Then, some guy gets her to come out when you haven't been able to since you found it."

Knuckles tilted his head at her. "Oddly specific."

"I do a bit of snooping. It gets boring in Green Hills." She admitted. Her white ears flicked up as the forest sounds continued. They were sensitive to most noises- an inconvenience sometimes. Still, as a demigod, it was helpful when any unsavory creatures wanted to attempt to hunt her down.

The two sat in silence for a while, staring up at the stars- clouded by the leaves to the trees that encroached upon the campsite. Rouge had made herself comfortable, sitting in front of Knuckles and leaning her back on his chest. Knuckles let her, holding her hands and hugging her close.

Neither of them would admit it to the other, but they were nervous. They had never been part of a prophecy- not that they knew of. They didn't really have significant roles in the life of their parents, or the whole of the legendary side of the world in which the gods and monsters would reside. They never saw themselves as that important, and that was okay to them.

Being great, heroic demigods - warrior of the deities - wasn't really what they wanted. They both would've been satisfied not even bothering with the gods at all.

They would've been happy just being together in a tiny apartment in any town.

Yet, here they were.

They met each other's gaze. Well, at least they still had each other. That was enough.

They didn't realize that Blaze had left the tent and was now waiting for them to realize she was sitting there.

Knuckles glanced behind him and noticed her. Blaze nodded at him, as if telling him he could rest now. He nodded back and looked over to Rouge. However, the Bat was asleep. He sighed, knowing she must've pulled another all-nighter last night. She usually wasn't as tired.

But now, it was illegal for him to move.

He smiled down at her. He was fine with that.

Blaze handed him some blankets and he covered the two of them up. Quickly, he fell asleep, resting his head on top of Rouge's. The Cat sat closer to the fire, making herself closer to the fire. She glanced at it, and the flames grew stronger, making the campsite warmer in general. Her hand rested on the blade she made just that afternoon. It had cooled down, but somehow still felt warm in her hand. She was ready to protect this campsite with her life.

~~~

"You're grinding your teeth."

Scourge glanced over to Cream. "What?"

The Rabbit girl was sitting up on top of her blankets, her brown eyes looking at Scourge- glowing dimly from the light of the fire. "You're grinding your teeth. It's not good." She whispered.

The Hedgehog sat up a bit, realizing that he had been subconsciously. "Yea, I just do that when I'm..." He trailed off, gesturing vaguely to the side. "Pissed off, I guess?"

"Are you mad about Athena?" She asked gently. "We all get it if you are." She looked at him sympathetically.

Scourge paused for a moment. "It's just so stupid. I mean, I've been going over, trying to get her attention or even for her to acknowledge we exist- my whole life. And she's never been there. Then, someone else asks her, and all of a sudden, she's so eager to help and to just- just be there!" He clenched his fists, trying to prevent himself from shouting that it wasn't fair.

He felt like a little kid, with the way he felt like begging Athena to notice him- notice his suffering (The way he prayed for her to protect him when his father came home).

"The gods... aren't always very good. There are few that really, really stick to doing the good thing." Cream said, inching closer to Scourge.

He looked back at her, sitting up. "So it's okay to be upset about it. But, in all honesty, if we tried understanding why the gods do what they do, or what happens in their existence to make them what they are, we'd probably go crazy. That doesn't mean what they do is okay, but there's really no point in dwelling so much on it."

She pulled his blanket over him. "You're only hurting yourself, you deserve better."

Scourge slept a little better after that.