A/N: This basically started with the idea that Will started going to Camp Half-Blood very young, and it snowballed. The ages are my own educated guesses on how old they should be in canon, but Rick's not the best when it comes to ages, so things could be off. This is also a friendly reminder that Travis and Connor aren't twins, and in this story, Travis is 10, and Connor is 8 (I feel like I might get comments on that, so might as well outright state it.) Also, Luke doesn't have a scar yet

Also this chapter is dedicated to WiseRavenclaw07 because I've been ranting about my Solangelo hyperfixation to her for the last two weeks and she hasn't gotten tired of me yet so that's much appreciated. 🖤

Camp Half-Blood Day Care

He'd never left Austin, Texas before. Never in his five long years of living. He'd been about the city-to tons of different restaurants where his mama would play music, to record dealerships and music shops-but everything his mama and him ever needed was confined in the invisible walls of Austin.

That was until Mama got a deal to go on tour.

Will wasn't quite sure what a tour was-Mama described it as going to loads of different places where she could play music for thousands of people-but his small brain couldn't picture her playing anywhere but the small pub she normally played at. The one where he'd sit on the big spinny chair and drink apple juice as Mama plucked away at the strings of her guitar. He couldn't quite comprehend the fact that he'd be leaving Austin.

It didn't feel real until he was sat in the back of a tour-bus, watching the city of Austin disappear.

"Where are we going?" Will asked, a slight lisp from the tooth he had lost a few days before: his very first lost tooth.

"New York," said his mama, sorting through guitar picks across the table from him.

"Is that in Texas?"

Mama laughed, and it made Will laugh too, though he wasn't sure why. "No, darlin', it's a different state. Remember when we talked about states?"

"Oh," Will vaguely remembered such a conversation. It had been when Mama tried to teach him to read, but the letters had gone all swirly and the b's looked like d's and he hadn't enjoyed it much. "You're gonna play music in New York?"

Mama nodded. "It's going to be a lot bigger than Austin."

"Bigger than Austin?" exclaimed Will, flabbergasted at the possibility something was bigger than the large city he lived in. "But Austin's like this big!" He stretched his arms as far as they could go.

Mama chuckled, "I know, sweetpea. I know." She paused a minute, looking at the smiling face of the five-year-old in front of her. "Do you want to help me organize my guitar picks?"

Will's grin enlarged, "Yes!" He reached across the table and grabbed his favorite pick; a yellow one with a golden sun, "After can we play doctor?"

"Of course."

The bus trip was much longer than Will had thought, they even stayed in a hotel for a night in a place called Virginia! He'd never been in a hotel, but he decided he liked them. The room he and Mama were in was large, with one bed pushed in the corner and a couch that Mama said turned into a bed. There even was a pool, though Mama and he only went there for a half-hour after dinner. His favorite part, however, was curling up against Mama as she turned on cartoons that they watched until they fell asleep.

It was nearing nightfall as they arrived in what Mama said was New York. There was white dust on the sidewalk, like the sugar on his favorite cookie. His mama told him it was snow, something that fell from the sky like rain when it was very cold. He thought it looked pretty.

"Mama, are we going to another hotel?" Will asked. They were stuck in New York traffic, people jaywalking left and right to get to their destination, and Will sat on the giant couch sorting through his toy medic bag. Mama sat beside him, legs swinging, as he pulled out a stethoscope to check her heart rate. "I liked yesterdays."

Will noticed immediately as Mama's face shrewd up; though he didn't know why.

"William, you're going to go to a special place while I'm on tour."

"I'm not staying with you?" He asked, his lip quivering. He always watched mama play. "Mama, why? Mama, I want to stay with you!"

"I know, sweetpea," she slowly removed the stethoscope from over her heart and picked up the little boy. His curls formed ringlets around his ears. "I'd bring you if I could. But this tour is not the place for a little kid."

"I'm not little," said Will, though the tears welling in his eyes made him feel little, "I'm big, mama, please let me stay."

Mama kissed his cheek, staining it red from her lipstick. "Your daddy told me that if I ever had to go somewhere, there would be a very special place in New York for you."

"Daddy?" Will's mama never spoke about his dad, it was only ever Will and Mama. "I'm going to stay with Daddy?"

Mama shook her head softly, "Your daddy's a very busy man, sweetpea, but he has a lot of friends who will watch you."

Will curled up on his mama's lap, laying his head against her shoulder blade. "Are you coming back for me, Mama?" He whispered, "Or are you going to leave like Daddy?"

A soft tear fell onto Will's curls. "I'll be back, sweetpea. Right after the tour. But, it will be safer here for you."

Mama lifted Will off her lap as the bus began to pick up speed, finally leaving the confines of New York City and entering Long Island. "You'll be good, won't you?"

Will nodded, "Yes, Mama."

It wasn't long until the bus skirted to a stop, a large hill with a tree atop it in the distance. The hill was dusted with snow, but the tree had no icicles dangling from its pine.

Mama wrapped him in a big, fluffy winter coat, gloves, and an R2D2 hat and placed him on her hip. She kissed his barely visible forehead as she stepped out of the tour bus and onto the snow. He clung onto her as she hiked up the hill, stopping just before the pinetree to place Will on the ground. The snow crunched beneath his feet. One of the people Mama worked with followed them, Will's bag in hand.

Mama tucked a letter into Will's pocket, "Give this to whoever is in charge, sweetpea. This is as far as I can go." She gestured for the lady to hand Will his stuff. He had a suitcase, his toy medic bag, a guitar he couldn't play, and his stuffed C-3PO he brought everywhere. He could barely carry it all.

"Mama, don't leave," Will started to tear up again. "Mama, please."

Mama kissed his head one last time, "I have to go play music for people. I'll see you soon, go past the tree."

Will waddled down towards the tree and when he reached the trunk he turned around, but the tour bus was already gone, driving into the distance. Will sat beneath the tree, putting his bags beside him to clutch C-3PO to his chest. He cried.

A group of five children with owl-like eyes found him there.

"Are you alright?" asked the oldest in the group. It was a girl, sixteen perhaps, or seventeen, with pin-straight black hair and a knowledgeable look about her. "Where's your satyr?"

"My what?" Will asked. He hugged C-3PO tighter.

"I don't think he has one?" A girl, older than Will by a few years, stepped forward. She had the same eyes as the first girl, but her hair was curly and light. "How did a baby get here?"

"I'm not a baby," snapped Will, rubbing the tears with the back of his glove. "But, my mama brought me here. She gave me a letter."

He dug in his pocket and produced the letter, giving it to the older girl.

"We should give this to Chiron or Mr. D," she said, pocketing it herself. "Annabeth, Reagin, Johnny, and Devon, help me grab his stuff."

The four others did as they were told. The older girl held out her hand for Will, allowing him to take it with his left while his right clung to his toy. "What's your name? And how old are you?"

"Will," Will mumbled, "I'm five."

"Well, Will," said the girl as she guided him towards a large house, the other four following with his stuff (though one of the boys, who looked about 14, had nothing). "My name's Lilith, and I'll be the first to welcome you to Camp Half-Blood."

"What's half-blood?" Will asked. He was confused and tired and just wanted mama to come back.

Lilith shifted uncomfortably in her spot, "I don't think I'm the person to tell you that, Will."

"Oh," Will watched as the grass swayed between their feet. He was already starting to miss the snow.

"You said your Mama brought you here?" The youngest of the group, the girl from earlier, came over, Will's little guitar slung over her shoulder. "Did she say why? Who are you exactly? And where are you from?"

The girl's blunt questions triggered tears and Lilith chastised the girl, "Annabeth, he's clearly sad." She picked Will and rocked him slightly, "We're just trying to help."

Will sniffled, "Mama said she was leaving me at a special place my daddy told her about while she goes and plays music."

One of the boys, the one holding Will's suitcase, frowned, "Your mama's a musician?"

Will nodded before resting his head on Lilith's shoulder. Her scarf was soft. "Mama plays the guitar." He gestured to the one resting on Annabeth's back. "I can't play very well, but Mama helps me."

"Not to stereotype," said the middle girl who had to be Reagan, "But that sounds like an Apollo thing."

"He said he can't play though, just his mama," said Annabeth. Despite the fact she was a head smaller than Reagan, she carried herself in a more mature manner.

"Stop trying to guess his dad," said Lilith. Her voice shook Will slightly, "He's five, he might not even be claimed soon."

"I was claimed at seven!" said Annabeth.

"What's claimed?" asked Will. He rested his head on Lilith's shoulder, C-3PO smushed between them. "Do you know my daddy?"

Lilith paused. "Sort of," she said, "We'll let Chiron and Mr. D explain it."

One of the boys, who had the same owl-like expression as Lilith, Reagan, and Annabeth, examined Will as if he were a prototype. "Don't worry, kid, they're nice."

"Chiron's nice," said Annabeth.

They reached a big building, and Lilith put Will down on one of the stairs. Despite the winter cold, two men sat on the porch, playing a card game. One even wore short sleeves-an odd colored Hawaiian shirt with palm trees and pineapples and dolphins. The other man was dressed more appropriately, and had a blanket across his lap on his wheelchair.

"If it isn't Athena's brainspawn," said the man in the Hawaiian shirt. He had a can of soda that he lifted up, as if in salute. "Do you need something, Lilianna?"

"It's Lilith," muttered Lilith, but if the man heard her, he ignored her. "And we found this boy by Thalia's tree." She gestured to Will, he clutched C-3PO to his chest. "He handed me this letter."

Both men frowned as Lilith handed them the letter. The man in the wheelchair read it first, and handed it to the other man.

"Well, this is a peculiar situation," commented the man in the wheelchair. "Can you come to me, please?"

Lilith gave Will an encouraging look, and he stepped forward. The man lifted Will up and placed him on his lap. "My name's Chiron, and that man is Mr. D. We're the people who are going to watch you."

Will nodded.

"Lilith, would you and the Athena cabin take Will's stuff to the Hermes cabin, and tell Luke he's got a new camper."

Lilith nodded. "Come on, you four."

The four got into a line without hesitation and followed without question. Annabeth, at the end of the line, looked curiously at Will before realizing she was falling behind and had to rush to catch up.

"Wally, or whatever your name is," Mr. D was looking at Will like he was a dolphin. "This is a lot of information, but it's important you listen. Chiron?"

After a child-friendly version of the Greek Gods are real, and your dad is one Will found himself walking hand and hand with Chiron (who was a big horse!) towards cabins in the form of a horseshoe. His head was still reeling, and the only thing he wanted was to play doctor.

Chiron stopped in front of a cabin with the number 11 on it. On the steps was a group of children. The oldest was about Lilith's age, sixteen. He had close cropped blonde hair, and blue eyes that looked haunted. When he saw Will, however, the haunted look left and he smiled. "This must be Will."

Will smiled smally, not wanting to let go of Chiron's hand or C-3P0.

"This is Luke Castellon, son of Hermes." Chiron said, "You remember Hermes?"

Will nodded.

"He's going to be your counselor until you're claimed by your dad."

Chiron unlatched Will's hand from his and gestured him forward.

Luke went to the bottom of the steps and knelt down, his expression soft with understanding. "It's going to be okay."

Will grabbed Luke's hand. It was calloused from sword-fighting.

"Come inside, and I'll introduce everyone in our cabin."

Inside the Hermes's cabin there were bunks filling the room. About a quarter were filled, and Will's stuff was on a bottom bunk with nobody on the top. The bunk beside him was so messy, Will was afraid that he'd fall over trying to get to bed. He was led to the middle of the room by Luke, and everyone sat criss cross in a circle. Will sat beside Luke and a boy who looked about eight with curly dark hair and light eyes.

"As you can all see," Luke began, "We have a new camper."

The boy beside Will examined him; not in the same way the Athena kids did, but in a way that sent shivers down Will's spine. "Is that C-3PO?"

Will perked up at the sound of Star Wars. "Yes! It's my favorite movie!"

The boy two away from Will, who looked nearly identical to the one next to Will, except this boy looked about 10, laughed. "Connor and I have lightsabers. We can show you."

"Really?" Will's smile was blinding. "That's awesome!"

Luke laughed. "Looks like you'll get along fine here. Now can we introduce ourselves to Will?"

The boy with the lightsaber started. "I'm Travis Stoll, and this little kid here is my brother, Connor."

"We'll keep you safe here," Connor said. For the fact he was so young, he looked confident in his words. "Especially from the Ares Cabin."

"The Ares Cabin isn't going to attack a five year old," said a girl. "I'm Lucy Hall, by the way."

"You never know," shrugged a boy beside Lucy. "Clarisse might, she's only ten."

"I'm ten," pointed out Travis.

"Who's Clarisse?" asked Will, looking around.

"Daughter of Ares," said the boy, "Do you know Ares?"

"God of fighting?" Will mumbled.

The boy nodded, "That's the one. Clarisse arrived this summer. She's got a temper, that one. I'm Justyn Clammer by the way."

"And as you know, I'm Luke Castellan." Luke ended. "You want to introduce yourself now."

"I'm Will Solace," said Will quietly.

"Now that we've got that introduction out of the way. You guys can do what you want until dinner. Meeting adjourned."

Will found himself being pulled by the Stoll brothers, who he found had the messy bunk beside his. The three played with lightsabers for hours. For the fact that Will was so much smaller than them, he held his own. He hadn't even noticed how long they played until Luke called them for dinner.

With Connor on his left and Travis on his left, he headed to dinner. There were different tables, split by the different gods. He could see the Athena table, with Lilith, Reagan, Johnny, Devon, and Annabeth. Lilith smiled at him as he sat at the Hermes table. Will smiled back.

Will found the meal fascinating. The way they scraped a portion of the food in the fire (Will was too small to reach the fire himself, so Luke had to help him; he wished that his dad would claim him), the way the food appeared on the table. The way he could ask for any drink. The way the Hermes kids laughed at his jokes. He'd never really talked to people outside his mom or the people who helped his mom record music.

That night Will laid in his bunk. Beside him, Travis was kicking the bottom of Connor's bed. Lucy and Justyn were talking quietly. Luke was sharpening his blade. He fell asleep, reeling from all the information he learned that day.

To the shock of most of the camp (though there weren't that many year-long campers) Will was claimed on the Winter Solstice.

He was sitting near the lava wall as Connor and Travis rushed near to the top. Will had the smallest harness the camp owned, and his hands were covered in powder that Luke told him would help him climb better. The air was brisk, but the border, as Will had been told, would help regulate it so they only needed a sweater. He had never climbed before, and with each spew of lava, he jumped.

"Travis!"

The ten year old boy had been hit with a spew of lava, and Luke sent Justyn to go find the camp medic (a seventeen year old girl named Wendy Summers) as he helped Travis unharness himself.

Will rushed forward, his too-big helmet bobbing as he did. He stopped in front of Travis, his face set in stone. "Let me see."

Luke was hesitant to let the five year old see the wound, but Travis stuck his arm out bravely. He had played fake-doctor with Will enough times in the week or two he's been there to humor him.

Travis's shoulder was blistered and red, the fabric of his sweatshirt and shirt melted away.

Will took a deep breath. This wasn't like playing pretend with mama in their living room in Austin, this was real. Something no five year old should know how to do.

But somehow, Will knew what to do.

He placed his small hands against the wound, ignoring how Travis flinched with the contact. When Justyn came back with Wendy, all that was left of Travis's injury was the hole in his shirt and the glowing lyre above Will's head.

Justyn stopped, out of breath. "I'll go get Chiron." He breathed.

Luke looked flabbergasted at the five year old beside him as the small group of children around him dropped to their knees. "All Hail Will Solace," mumbled Luke, "Son of Apollo, god of prophecy and oracles, knowledge, music, song and poetry, archery, healing, plague, and disease."

That afternoon, the Hermes cabin helped Will move his stuff to Cabin 7. It was pretty, bright and yellow, with pretty little flowers all around it.

He found the people in it cool too. There were only three of them; Wendy, Lee, and Michael.

Wendy was seventeen, with bright ginger hair and dark eyes. She had the same amount of freckles as Will, and adored medical practitioning. When she saw Will's toy medic bag, she gave him a huge smile, and promised to teach him loads about medicine. Will nearly jumped out of his skin.

Lee was about thirteen, but acted like he was Will's age. He looked like Will too, with curly blonde hair and startling blue eyes. Lee also could play the guitar, and tried to give Will a lesson, but it turns out Will did not have a natural aptitude for music, despite being the kid of Apollo.

Lastly, Michael was eleven years old, but was shorter than both Annabeth and Connor, who were both eight. He made up for his lack of height with his attitude, and he was constantly picking up fights with Clarisse. Will wasn't sure why, he found Clarisse a little scary, and she was at least a foot and a half taller than Michael even if Michael was a year older.

While Will missed Travis and Connor (and more specifically their lightsabers) he knew he could grow to love Cabin 7.

At dinner the night he was claimed, he overheard the Athena kids talking about him from the table beside him.

"I told you Will would be an Apollo kid," Reagan said rather loudly. She held a french fry between her fingers like a cigarette.

Annabeth scoffed. "I never said he wouldn't be." She took a sip of bug juice before continuing. "I just said you couldn't rule out everything else just because his mama's a singer."

"You're just too stubborn to admit you're wrong," Johnny said.

"Am not!" snapped Annabeth.

Lee tapped Will on his shoulder, bringing him back to table 7. "Don't worry about the Athena kids, they're always bickering over something."

Will gave a small smile.

Somehow, the fight at the Athena table reached over to the Ares table on their other side. There were only three of them: a set of twins around Luke's age named Edith and Wyatt, and Clarisse. Under the protection of Travis and Connor, Clarisse hadn't done much to Will, but he heard stories about what she does to other campers. He was scared about what she'd do when he got a little bigger.

The Ares kids were screaming at the Athena kids, and Will covered his ears. Even with his palms flat against his head, he could hear the bickering.

Seeing her newest brother's distress, Wendy lifted her fingers to her lips and blew. The whistle caught the attention of the bickering kids. "Can we stop screaming?" Wendy asked. "Will's distressed."

"We're a war camp, not a daycare!" snapped Clarisse. She had a bandana tied against the sleeve of her sweater, and a set look on her face.

"Yeah, and you're a baby yourself," snapped back Michael.

"I swear," Clarisse marched over to table 7, passing a rather distressed looking Annabeth, who seemed scared that she had started this. "Capture the Flag. Ares versus Apollo."

"It's the middle of winter," yelled Lilith, pushing back the bench she sat on, despite the fact that Reagan and Devon were sitting on it. "We can't play Capture the Flag, there aren't enough of us!"

"There's enough of us here to play," said Clarisse. "Right, Edith and Wyatt."

The older two Ares kids marched over, and Will cowered into Wendy's side.

"That's right," said Edith. Her voice reminded Will of a lawn mower, deep and scratchy. "So, Wendy, do you accept in honor of your brother?"

"Accept it!" yelled Michael.

"Don't," whined Lee.

"What's Capture the Flag?" asked Will quietly.

Wendy frowned. "Fine, accepted or whatever."

Clarisse jumped in her spot, "On Christmas Day?"

"We don't celebrate Christmas," pointed out Michael.

"It could be a new tradition," Wyatt said. "All right. Edith, Clarisse, follow me, we have allies to make."

The three Ares kids marched off, and Wendy smacked Michael's arm in disapproval.

Will learned pretty quickly what Capture the Flag was, and followed his older siblings around as they made allies with other cabins. Will wanted to be on the same team as the Hermes cabin, as he was friends with Travis and Connor, but Luke had already promised to side with the Ares kids.

In the end, the Apollo kids allies were the Demeter kids, Athena kids, and the Hephaestus kids.

They had strategy meetings, but Will didn't listen much. He just played in the corner, listening to C-3PO's cotton heartbeat. He had thought the other younger kids would play with him, but Annabeth, the only other one on their team under 10, had war strategies of her own.

The evening of the Capture the Flag game, Wendy helped Will put on his armor. It was far too big for him.

"I'm scared," muttered Will quietly as a blue plume was stuck on his helmet.

Wendy kissed the armor on his head, "You'll be alright."

In his hand, Will had a small dagger. He couldn't hold a sword, so that was the next best thing. Usually, he'd pretend the blade was a lightsaber. It was funner that way.

"If something's wrong," Wendy said as they lined up. Will was so much smaller than the other kids. "Just whistle."

"I can't whistle," cried Will.

"Scream then!" Wendy said over the cry of the starting cannon.

Will stuck with Helena, a Demeter girl, who had a way with vines. He clung to her like a monkey as she tied up their opponents with vines. The other campers were wary of Will, and seemed to avoid him when possible. He wasn't sure what he could do, so he stuck to Helena like glue.

He and Helena were captured by Clarisse and an Aphrodite girl her same age named Silena Beauregard. Silena mollycoddled Will as they were sent to the Red Team's jail, which royally pissed off Clarisse.

"He's our opponent!" snapped Clarisse. In her armor she looked much older than she really was. "Stop fraternizing with the enemy!"

"He's five," whined Silena. However, after adjusting Will's plume, she stepped back. "We should probably re enter the battle before you lose your pants. Lylla'll guard them.

Clarisse stuck her tongue out at Silena before they ran away.

Lylla, an older Aphrodite girl who's sense of style consisted only of plaid, sat near their prison watching them curiously. Unlike her little sister, she didn't smother Will, something the boy appreciated, but she did look at him with a look of pity.

"We got it!" He heard a voice yell. He couldn't see anything, so he looked up at Helena. Based on the way she smiled and fist pumped the air, Will had the feeling they won. Something he was excited about.

Wendy allowed Will to help as she healed the injuries. Only a few kids got hurt: Connor had a purple bruise forming on his right cheek like a kiss, an eleven year old Hephaestus boy named Charles Beckendorf had a sprained ankle, and Will's older brother, Michael, had a stab wound in his quad.

Will's small fingers were soaked in Michael's blood as he wrapped the bandage around his leg. Wendy watched with an approving look.

"Not too tight, Will," said Wendy. Will nodded, tying off the bandage as best he could. Wendy examined it and nodded. "Impressive." Will couldn't help but beam with pride.

That night, Will climbed into his bed, his favorite pajamas (the one with the smiling sun playing the guitar) on, feeling satisfied that he had done something good.

When January came, he learned demigods attended school at camp. He sat at the same table as Annabeth and Connor, who were in third grade, and Kylie Walters, a Hephaestus girl who was in fourth grade, and was given kindergarten packets to work on. He had never attended school before, and wasn't quite sure if this was normal.

Annabeth loved to help Will with his homework. Despite her having dyslexia (which Will learned he had too: it was the reason his letters went all swirly), she took pride in attempting to read and explain Will's packets to him. Often she ignored her own packets and spent her time explaining to Will how to draw a line and write his letters properly. She forced him to repeat his sight words to her, and to help him with his math. Will liked the help.

His favorite time during the school day was when he got to play. Annabeth, Connor, and Kylie also got play-time, and the four of them would play whatever. Most of the time, Annabeth would try to convince them to play legos, but sometimes Will got to convince them to play doctor. The three older kids didn't seem to care that Will was so much younger than them, and played with him all the same.

Sure, Will still really missed Mama, but he was having fun at Camp Half-Blood.

On a day in February, Will was trying to read his sight words (this week was no, yes, play, and heal) when Chiron approached his table.

"Will, your mother's coming to pick you up today after dinner."

Connor reacted first, "Is Will coming back?"

"Soon," Chiron told him. "Will, you're dismissed from class, I'll come with you to help you pack."

As Will stood up, Annabeth started to get up too, "Can Connor, Kylie, and I help?"

Chiron looked at the three older kids. "Fine, come along you three. I've already spoken to Wendy."

Packing was a lot sadder than Will had thought. Sure, he was over the moon about seeing Mama, but at the same time he was sad to leave his friends. "You'll Iris Message, right?" He asked them.

Connor, to his surprise, pulled him in a hug. He was barely up to his shoulder in height. "Travis and I will force Luke to let us."

"I'll design a prism that makes a steady rainbow!" Annabeth declared.

"I'll build that prism," said Kylie.

Will smiled.

At dinner, Wendy, Lee, and Michael all fought to sit next to their baby brother. It felt nice to have siblings, Will thought as he stole a french fry from Lee's plate. He'd miss them.

It felt like the whole camp walked him to Thalia's tree. Argus, a man with eyes everywhere, had already packed Will's stuff into the tour bus, including his dagger.

Will was tackled in hugs as they stopped right before the border. Annabeth was giving him tips on monsters, Connor and Travis made him promise to come back so they could play with their lightsabers again, and Kylie gave him a friendship bracelet he had seen her make during class. The last to hug him was his own siblings.

Wendy picked him up and squeezed him tight, "Stay safe, Will. Hope to see you soon."

Lee ruffled his hair, "What Wendy said."

Michael, always awkward with emotions, just smiled awkwardly.

"Will come on," Chiron called, and Will marched towards the tree. He could see the campers waving at him when he turned around. He gave one bright, Apollo worthy smile, before running and engulfing Mama in a hug.

As the tour bus drove away, Will watched as Thalia's tree faded from sight, knowing he'd be back soon to see his friends.