Heather stared at herself in the mirror of the vanity. Her long and slim fingers braided her hair this way and that, her dark brown eyes being highlighted by eyeliner, eyeshadow and other crazy techniques before being wiped off and restarted.

Nothing seemed right. She bit her lip and tried again and again. 

"Heather, could you hurry up? We have to get ready too!" one of her half-siblings called out. 

She quickly decided on just orange and gold eyeshadow and some lipgloss.

She hurried out the bathroom and smiled apologetically at the others in the Aphrodite cabin. 

Heather knew preparing for the campfire wasn't a normal occurrence, but she knew that being beautiful and prepared was a silent expectation from the Aphrodite Cabin.

She made it to the campfire and sat in her usual spot, eager to see the new camper.

But as she sat near the fire, her eyes started drooping closed. She'd hardly slept a wink the night before and she could barely keep her eyes open. 

Nightmares constantly plagued her dreams that held memories of foster families and orphanages.

But before she knew it, her eyes closed and the nightmares began. 

She was ten again. She was running, and the shouts didn't get quieter, they got louder. Screams of angered families mixed with the screeching of bat-like creatures followed her. Her heart pounded and her eyes misted with terrified tears.

Suddenly, she was yanked into a side alley by a teenage girl. The girl donned strange periwinkle wings that were feathery but translucent. 

The girl stared Heather dead in the eyes, her confused brown eyes meeting her own.

She shook her and said, "Wake up!"

Heather's eyes shot open.

Murmurs circled and for a moment she thought they were about her. But as she rapidly blinked the almost-tears from her eyes, she noticed the girl from her dream. A floating symbol of poopies and wings floated above her head before fading away.

She felt that she had to take initiative in this situation of uneasy whispers.

"Let's welcome our first Morpheus kid!" She projected her voice, giving a warm smile despite the nervous churning within her stomach. A few uneasy smiles but at least it worked.

"I'll take her to her cabin!" She smiled, taking the girl's hand in her own and taking her to the Morpheus cabin.

"I saw you...in your dream." The girl said awkwardly, her brown eyes shifting around.

Heather's smile faltered slightly but she retained her happy demeanour, "I'm Heather, I'm a child of Aphrodite, what's your name?"

"Erika." She said, and smiled slightly.

They made it to the cabin of Morpheus, which walls swirled with ever-changing misty colours.

"Well, see you tomorrow, Erika," Heather said, smiling at the younger.

"Yup." Erika responded, before shutting the door.