"Ohhhhhh, if you're happy and you know it, flap your wings!"

Onyx stared at Sol with a blank expression.

"If you're happy and you know it, flap your wings!"

This time, Onyx blinked.

"If you're happy and you know it, and you really wanna show it, if you're happy and you know it, flap your wings!"

Onyx began grooming his chest.

Sol leaned against the wall of the gryphon's stall in defeat. "He's hopeless."

"Hey, don't talk mean like that." I snapped, placing my hand on Onyx's shoulder blade. The surface of my palm tingled as I felt Onyx's emotions flood my own neurological pathways: boredom. "I think we should take him out for a flight." Onyx's ears perked. "He's been cooped up here too long."

Sol smiled as Onyx purred and bumped his head into me. "How do you do it, Finny? Read his mind like that, I mean. Like, this is supposed to be a fierce monster that would eat a demigod the first chance it gets. You find him, and... He melts into this big, half-bird kitten. It's straight up magic." Sol rambled as I grabbed Onyx's special-made harness and put in on the gryphon.

"I don't know how I do it, it's just something I discovered on our quest." I stated, buckling the harness and tightening the strap. "I've always been able to read people well, see their expressions and get a pretty good idea on how they feel. But this is way different. It's like opening the gateway to someone's brain with the palm of my hand. I can't read their minds, but I feel their emotions, and then I just... empathize."

"I don't know of any other demigod EVER who could do that, let alone a child of Hades- no offense." Sol wondered aloud as we exited the stables and made our way to the clearing for take-off.

I frowned. 'No, you're a different breed of demigod.' The haunting words of Eros rang in my ears. I never knew what he meant, but I had come to associate it with the fact that I had the ability to read people's emotions like a book; that, and my gift with a bow and arrow, despite the fact that I was the daughter of Hades, not Apollo. Both these gifts went unexplained by my divine heritage, but they were not mortal traits either. I had no idea exactly what a "different breed" of demigod meant, but I never put a terrible amount of thought into it. After all, both abilities had saved my skin numerous times. As curious as I am, sometimes it's better to count your blessings than to ask where they come from. "I have no idea. As far as I know, I'm the only one who can do it."

"Hm." Sol pressed his lips together in thought. "Does it work on humans?"

"I think so." I stated, holding up my palm as an offering. "Wanna give it a go?"

Sol paused. "No, I'd rather not."

I frowned, dropping my hand. "Ouch."

Sol gave an awkward chuckle. "Sorry, that came out wrong. But some doors are better left unopened."

I pursed my lips. That was rather uncharacteristic of Sol- he was a "go-with-the-flow" kinda guy, plus he had seemed curious about it, having started on the topic. I found it strange that he wasn't interested in seeing what I could do as first-hand as possible. I opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the voice of Travis Stoll.

"Hey!" He shouted, jogging towards us as he waved. I paused and Onyx huffed, looking up longingly at the sky.

"What's up?" Sol asked as Travis stopped in front of us.

"Affinity, there's group training in stealth today. You gotta get down to the Big House for team choosing." Travis explained, before winking at Sol. "Maybe next time, buddy."

"Wait, I'm not allowed to play?" Sol frowned.

"Weeelllll," Travis took an awkward step away from us, "Chiron wasn't sure if you were quite well enough to play, and Will told him maybe it was best if you sit this one out as a precaution. You know how intense these games can get."

I frowned. "Well, I've never done group training."

Travis raised a brow for a second, before nodding with a smile. "Hey, that's right! You are pretty new to camp. Well, group training is pretty self explanatory; all the campers get together to practice important battle strategies in more simple games, like capture the flag or three-legged races. We do it a lot more often during the summer. In the winter, when there's a lot less people at camp, we do it less often."

I furrowed my brows. "Three-legged race? These don't sound like crazy intense things Sol can't participate in."

Travis snorted. "Yeah, right. Tell her how bad it can get, Sol."

Sol blinked, glancing at me, before looking back to Travis and shrugging. "I think you're exaggerating, dude. They're not that intense."

Travis shook his head in disbelief. I rolled my eyes. "I may have only been here for a month, but I know kids from the Hermes cabin like to play tricks." I patted Sol's shoulder. "I'll talk to Chiron and tell him that you're okay to play the group games. Besides, I need to have someone show me the ropes."

Sol smiled brightly. "Sweet! Thanks, Affinity!"

Onyx growled, lashing his tail in irritation. Travis's eyes widened and he took a nervous step back.

I ruffled Onyx's neck fur. "You don't need to be scared. He's just upset that we're not taking him flying anymore."

Sol scratched the gryphon under his chin. "After the game, buddy. Promise." Onyx purred.

Sol and I quickly returned Onyx to his stall in the stables, before we made our way to the Big House. Travis had already taken off ahead of us, leaving the two of us alone. In the back of my head, I wondered whether or not now would be a good time to bring up my dream last night- could that possibly be why Sol had shut me down minutes earlier? Was he upset with me, and trying to hide it? But before I could formulate exactly what to say, we were back in the thick of camp, and no longer in private.

We jogged to the Big House quickly. Most of the other demigods who resided in camp during the winter were already gathered in front of Chiron and Mr. D., and Sol and I were among the stragglers.

"Two of you will be captains." Chiron was speaking as we arrived; he must have already started to explain the game. "The hiders will have 10 minutes to disappear into the woods. The seekers will then go out to find their opponents. Seekers must be vigilante and wise, hiders must be stealthy and able to defend themselves."

"Oh, it's hide and seek." I muttered to Sol. "This'll be fun."

"Mr. D will pick the captains." Chiron finished.

Mr. D looked at Chiron with a defeated look, before scanning his eyes over the campers. "Dominic will lead the hiders. Er... Quinn will lead the seekers."

Instantly, whispering burst out among the demigods as the captains stepped forward. From what I knew, Dominic was apart of the Athena cabin. And Quinn was a child of Ares. It was impossible to forget our first encounter- he cut my wrist open with a blade unapologetically during a friendly spar. The wound had healed, the scar had faded, but my bitterness towards Quinn remained. I couldn't help but glare as he turned to face the rest of the campers. Our eyes locked temporarily, and his narrowed as well.

The picking went rather quickly. The captains spent their first sets of picks bringing their own cabin onto their team. Then, campers from other cabins were recruited.

"Affinity." Dominic called out after Quinn had picked a girl from the Hecate cabin. I moved obediently to my team.

"Michaela." Quinn called up a younger girl from the Hephaestus cabin. She ran forward excitedly.

"Sol." Dominic stated. Sol began forward excitedly, but Will beat him to it, leaning against Dominic causally as the other camper glanced at him uncomfortably.

"I think Sol's sitting out today, right buddy?" Will said, though it was less of a question and more of a statement.

"Actually," I began, "Sol has been doing really good during our training today. We did some light sparring and he really held his own."

Will looked surprised, and from behind the group of campers, Chiron raised a brow, looking to Sol. "Do you think you can handle this, Sol?"

"Absolutely!" Sol smiled excitedly, jogging over to join me with the other hiders.

Chiron then glanced at Will, who hesitated slightly. "Well... if Affinity stays with him, I guess it'll be fine."

"Did you think we were gonna split up?" Sol laughed, throwing his arm over my shoulder. I ducked under it and punched him lightly in the shoulder. This only amused him further. "Besides, this is Affinity's first group training. I can't leave her to fend for herself."

"I'm sure she can fend better than you can!" Someone on the seeker side shouted, causing a small wave of laughter to ripple through the campers, myself included. After a few more picks, everyone had their tasks. The seekers were guided inside the Big House, while the rest of us booked it to the woods, the ten minute countdown starting as we entered the tree line.