"Wow, remind me never to get on your bad side." Sol muttered as we sat at the doors of the Apollo cabin. Despite the fact that Sol and I were found, the hiders ended up winning because none of the seekers could find Dominic and the rest of the Athena cabin. With the game over, we opted to skip lunch to get away from the other campers- namely Quinn.

I still had a bitter taste in my mouth thinking about the events of the game. "It's easy to stay off of it unless you're an obnoxious jerk."

"Noted." Sol nodded, clapping his hands and leaning forward. When I glanced at him, he smiled. "How 'bout we take Onyx out for a bit like we promised? Wouldn't want to disappoint him."

"Yeah, I guess not." I sighed, pushing myself up with my hands and stretching. My clothes and arms were still covered with dirt from the den, and so was Sol, though he looked much worse, since he was also covered in scratches. "I just don't understand what Quinn's problem with you is. Like, you're probably the nicest guy I've ever met, and he's- GAH!" I kicked a rock and it sailed several feet. "And the worst thing is you never say anything back to him. Why do you let him walk all over you like that?"

Sol hesitated. "I guess I just have nothing to say."

I could tell he was lying. What was he hiding? What could he have possibly done? "Does it not bother you?"

Sol grimaced. "It infuriates me. Especially when he does that stuff in front of you- the first friend I've had at this camp in years and it feels like he's trying to ruin it for me constantly."

I scoffed. "The next time he even looks at me wrong, I'm gonna- I'm gonna..." Sol raised an eyebrow as he looked at me teasingly. I sighed in defeat, smiling slightly. We both knew I wasn't gonna do anything. "I'm gonna kick dirt on his shoes."

That made Sol laugh. "Gosh, you're so ferocious, Finny. I don't know how I'll be able to keep you from givin' it to him."

It felt better to see him smile. I rolled my eyes. "Come on, we seeing Onyx or not?"

"We can." Sol got up and followed me towards the stables. I watched as he kept his eyes trained on the sky above. I wanted to know what was going on in that head of his. I desperately wanted to know more about the beef between Sol and Quinn. Sol was such an open book, it frustrated me greatly that he was hiding it from me. I thought about this morning, how he didn't want me to touch his hands and read his emotions before. Why? What was he hiding?

My eyes fell down to his hand, swinging lightly at his side. If I just grabbed it, I'd get an exact read on how he was feeling. I stretched out my fingers slightly, moving to close the distance, before I bailed, my face becoming hot as I realized what I was doing. What was I thinking?

"Are you okay?" I snapped out of it as I looked at Sol, staring at me. "Why is your face red?"

"Uh, just- a lot on my mind. Gets me flustered." I stated, my eyes wide with embarrassment as I trained them on the path ahead of us. Flustered? Really?

"We never finished talking about that nightmare you had." Sol reminded me. "If that's weighing on your mind-"

I let out a laugh, rolling my eyes. "We'll finish the dream conversation when you tell me what Quinn's problem with you is- "friendship is a two-way street", remember?"

"Affinity." Sol stated in annoyance, and I heard the footsteps stop abruptly next to me. He was- mad? I've never been on the receiving end of that emotion. "Please, stop bringing it up. It's a long story that I don't feel like talking about right now. It's something personal and I'll tell you when I'm ready to. On my terms. Got it?"

I stared at him in surprise. I wasn't sure if the tightness in my chest was from being hurt or angered by his reaction. What in the world was so messed up that Sol didn't feel comfortable telling me? We literally almost died together- SEVERAL times. Before I could have formulate a response, he shook his head. "You know what? I'm just gonna go practice shooting. I'll see you later."

I watched as he turned and walked away, his entire body ridged and tense. I stared after him for a second, before my brows furrowed in anger and frustration. "Whatever, Andrews." I called after him, before pivoting on my heels and continuing towards the stables. My throat burned from anger, sadness, and embarrassment as I reached up and wiped my eyes violently of the accumulating tears.

~~~~~

I dreaded eating. Not because of the food was gross or anything; the food at Camp Half-Blood was some of the best food I've ever eaten. But there was nothing worse than sitting by myself. Hearing all of the chatter around me from the other cabins reminded me of my days in high school back in Marquette. Lonely. I imagined the feelings were worse during summer, when all the tables were crammed with the summer-only campers. It made me miss Nico. It made me miss lunch with my parents, at my house.

I picked at the cold pasta salad on my plate. After that fight with Sol, I realized that there really wasn't any reason to stay at camp anymore. After all, I was only here to keep Sol company while he recovered. Maybe that's why he snapped at me. He just needed some space.

My eyes drifted to the Apollo table, where Sol sat with a handful of his siblings. He seemed to be in deep thought as well, staring at his plate instead of eating. Will elbowed him, seeming joke around about something. I couldn't hear what he said, but whatever it was made Sol look up from his food and directly at me. I quickly looked away and found myself looking at the Hermes cabin's table.

I had always been told that the Hermes cabin had had much more campers back in the day, before gods had to claim their offspring by the age of 13. After Percy Jackson defeated Kronos, however, not only did he make the gods swear on the River Styx that they would claim their children, but he had cabins added to Camp Half-Blood for children of non-Olympian gods, like Hades and Hecate. The Hermes cabin apparently emptied out over night.

Except for one child. I leaned my cheek up again the heel of my hand, frowning as I thought of Mico. Until I got here, they were the only unclaimed camper. The only one who had no idea where they came from. No one to confide in. No one to trust. I can understand what drove Mico mad. But that doesn't mean I believe their actions are justified. And that doesn't mean that I think my friend is too far gone to bring back.

Then, I was brought out of my thoughts when I slowly came to realize how quiet the other campers had gotten. I saw that the Hermes kids were staring at something in the distance with both confusion and intrigue. I followed their gaze to a group of girls approaching the Pavilion with grave expressions. There was a small range of ages between them, with girls who couldn't be much older than me to woman who couldn't be any older than 25. They wore silvery, flowing coats and thick, black boots to protect themselves against the weather outside camp. Around their foreheads, they were a headpiece donning a pale crescent moon on their forehead.

"The Hunters." A girl at a nearby table whispered to one of her cabinmates. "I wonder what they want."

I watched with interest as Chiron approached them. His expression was kind, but I could see he was trying to mask his shared confusion with the rest of the camp. "Hunters of Artemis. This is a great honor. What brings you here?"

"Hello, Chiron." One of the older girls greeted. "We apologize for the unannounced arrival, but this is very urgent." She paused, her eyes sweeping across the campers as if she were a officer looking over her suspects. When her eyes landed on me, they seemed to stick there for much longer than the other campers. Only when I squirmed out of discomfort did she move on.

Finally, she turned back to Chiron. "Where is Thalia Grace?"

Chiron frowned. "She is searching for Percy Jackson with a handful of others. I thought she would have told you this."

"Of course we know she's looking for Percy. She had to get our goddess' blessing to do so." The woman stated rather caustically. "It's been two weeks since we've heard from her. She was camping out at the Rìo Grande last we heard and then she missed her next check-in."

Chiron looked disheartened by this news. "I'm sorry, Anessa. This is the first I'm hearing of this. The last time I heard from Thalia is when she first began her search."

Anessa nodded. "Well, unfortunately that means our worst fears are realized. Thalia wouldn't disappear like this unless something dire has happened. I fear she may be in trouble." Anessa looked at the campers again. "I think it's only justice that a demigod help track her down, since she got in trouble looking for one."

That sent a ripple through the Pavilion. One of the Athena cabin kids stood up. "How does that make sense? You'd be better at tracking her down than any of us would."

"It's not about whether it makes sense to you or not." Anessa responded, and the Hunters around her nodded. "Thalia wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for a demigod. Artemis thinks it's only right that a party be sent out to help us look for her. After all, there's a lot of ground to cover when we have no clue where to look."

There was a bout of intense chatter among the campers before Chiron spoke. "I don't fully agree with the logic, but out of respect for Artemis, I'll have the Oracle come in and see if she has any prophecies to give. In the mean time, you're welcome to stay in camp until she gets here."

Anessa nodded. "Very well, Chiron."