Reyna's POV

I was startled by the pounding on my door. It was unusual to get a call this late in the night. It must have been important and if it wasn't than the knocker would be punished... severly. I slipped out of bed rushing to put normal clothes on. I had become a master at changing quickly over the years. In no less than a minute I was bouncing down the stairs of my quarters towards the door. From the sounds outside I could tell more than one person was awake. My curiosity peaked and I opened the door. Frank was standing in front of me his lips pressed together in a grim expression.

"What's wrong?" I asked knowing that look all to well. He stepped aside revealing a crowd of demigods gathered around something. Whispers passed through the crowd at an immense speed.

"Do you think she's dead?"

"Who is it?"

"I don't know there's too much blood and grime."

I made my way to the group of people who hardly noticed my arrival. I apologized as I pushed through the crowd until I came to the center where the object of interest rested. It was a girl laying unconscious in the path. Blood had stained the pavement looking like tar in the dark. Her shoulder was a mangled mess and cuts had covered almost every bare inch of her skin. Her leg was bleeding profusely from what looked to be a bite wound. Other injuries littered her pale skin. Stepping over a splatter of blood I knelt next to the injured person. They were laying face down and for a moment I thought she wasn't breathing. But there was a steady rise and fall to her chest. With careful hands I rolled the limp body over. My skin prickled and the hair on the back of my neck stood up as I realized who it was. People in the crowd must have recognized her too due to the collective gasp.

"Thalia." I hadn't said that name in a long time. In fact I hadn't seen her in a long time. Then again she was part of the Hunt. They didn't stick around very long. Her eyes snapped open and she jerked backwards nearly taking out a crowd of people.

"Woah, woah!" Frank called holding his hands up in a friendly none threatening gesture. "It's just us. Relax."

Thalia let out a sigh of relief. I noticed her bad limp and the way her eyes struggled to focus on anything. Frank caught my eye and he seemed to understand what needed to be done. "Everyone, please go back to bed. Everything is fine. She's up and moving."

"You expect us to go to bed after this?" A girl asked keeping Thalia from tipping sideways back onto the ground. She really was unsteady.

"At least report back to the barracks. We'll deal with this in the morning. In the mean time Miss Grace will receive medical attention." I stated backing up Frank's directions. There were grumbles of irritation but they all dispersed.  Frank moved forward and scooped Thalia up in one swift motion. The injured Daughter of Zeus groaned in irritation.

"I don't need to be carried," she fumed. Frank simply rolled his eyes.

"Yeah right. You could hardly stand." Thalia shot him a death glare.
Frank followed me back inside my quarters easing Thalia onto the edge of the table where she sat impatiently. Her eyes kept darting to the door as if she expected something to come crawling inside. I rummaged through the cabinets until I found the first aid kit. Frank stood awkwardly to the side looking unsure of what to do. I pulled out different contents and set them on the table. Thalia's eyes had taken on a distant look still trained on the door. Frowning, I waved a hand in front of her face as she snapped back to reality.

"Sorry," She grumbled her gaze turning to a glare though she was only looking at the wall. I began to bandage her wounds and she hardly flinched as I rubbed the open sores with disinfectant. She ate a small square of ambrosia as I put up my supplies. As soon as everything was tucked away she leapt to her feet and headed to the door. "Thanks for fixing me up but I need to get going."

"Oh, no you don't." I grabbed her uninjured shoulder, spun her around, and shoved her in a chair. I stood blocking her view of the door, arms crossed, daring her to try anything. She growled sparks flying off of her skin. Frank gave me a nervous look but I disregarded it. "How did you get here?"

"Does it matter?" She asked trying to get up and I shoved her back in the seat. Her eyes sparked angrily.

"You show up outside my house bleeding and unconscious and expect to say 'hi' then leave?" I raised an eyebrow and she sighed slumping back in the chair clearly defeated.

"I came here because I was in trouble." She stared sadly at the floor her voice becoming a whisper. "We all were."

"What do you mean?" Frank asked. His brow creased in concern.

"They came out of no where. We didn't even stand a chance." Thalia's voice cracked and I wasn't quite sure what to say. Jason and Annabeth said she never got upset. "I tried...but I failed and now they're probably all dead."

"Who? Can you give us any details?" She looked up at Frank her eyes rimmed red from tears.

"Lycaon. He attacked us. I don't know how he found us but he did. He's stronger, his pack is bigger, and he overran us in seconds. We didn't have enough arrows, we couldn't do anything. I'd been tracking him for weeks but somehow he had the jump on us. I told the others to run, to use the buddy system and hide. That I would come find them and everything would be fine." Her voice trembled.

"Who's us?" Frank asked confused.

"The other hunters. They're in trouble aren't they?" I asked. Thalia nodded burying her face in her hands.

"It's my fault. Im the leader I should have known what to do!" She whispered angrily. "Lycaon's done something with them."

"How do you know?" Frank asked innocently. Thalia rose to her full height looking like she wanted to kill something or someone.

"Because I saw him last night. Before I went unconscious. He said he knew where they were. That he wasn't going to kill me because his boss had plans for my scrawny ass." Sparks rolled off of her skin and I could have sworn some of the veins in her hands were turning a bright blue like her blood had been replaced with electricity.

"Do you know where they could be?" I asked trying to take in everything she was saying.

"I have an idea. We always had a safe house just in case." She shivered lightly and I realized she didn't have her usual leather jacket or parka. But I figured it was more from nerves than being cold.

"Well. If you tell us where to start we could look while you rest." Frank decided. Thalia stomped her foot angrily pacing the room. She turned to face us eyes desperate.

"You don't understand I need to find them. I'm the one who messed up not you Frank!" Frank took a small step back not sure how to proceed and I knew making him stay any longer would be torture. Pulling him aside for a moment I whispered that he should find Hazel and contact Jason and tell him what happened. Frank nodded before quietly exiting.

"Look I know you feel responsible but I can tell you from personal experience you're not. We'll find them. I promise, but sending you back out there is stupid. How are you going to help if you're practically crippled? If anything you'll make it worse." I reasoned trying my best to reassure the other girl.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asked. She looked up at me like a lost little kid. Our relationship had always been strange. We had met maybe twice. Once during the Giant War and she had saved my life. The second time was during the celebration after the war. The two of us had awkwardly sat at the tables together in silence as we watched all of the other couples talking happily. She had watched Jason happily from a distance with a sad but pleased look in her eyes. This was our third meeting and here I was supposed to tell her what to do. I realized she was very much like Percy in the fact that she was used to relying on Jason, or Annabeth, for answers. Even Artemis.

"Like I said. Rest. I can get you a room in the barracks, heal, and then you can look for clues." She nodded a strange silence passing over the room. She interrupted it with a quiet laugh. I looked down at her confused by the outburst.

"You can't escape us Graces can you? First you take care of Jason, now me. Your life must really suck."

"You can only imagine," I sighed. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"You know being Praetor isn't all it's cracked up to be. Didn't Jason tell you anything about his term as Praetor?" I questioned taking the seat across from the Daughter of Zeus. She shook her head no. "First of all,  running an entire camp isn't easy. There's actually a lot of paperwork to deal with. My officers send me citations of cohort member misbehavior, campus updates, renovation ideas, etc. Then you have Senate meetings full of idiots who don't think before they speak. Speaking of which I'll have another one of those tomorrow. I'll need to brief everyone on your circumstantial arrival."

"Sounds awful." She agreed. Again that wierd silence enveloped the room. I realized though I had bandaged her wounds she was still covered in grime.

"Ever had a Roman Bath?" I asked. She flashed a confused look at me which I took as a no. "Well, I guess that's a no. Follow me."

I watched her stand from the corner of my eye and she followed me out the door. We headed to the bath house where her eyes grew in wonder. I headed to the girl's wing with Thalia close at my heels. We arrived at an empty stall where a large bath tub waited. "I'll see if someone has clothes your size."

She shrugged my comment away seeming super eager to turn on the water. It suddenly occurred to me the Hunters probably didn't have portable bathtubs or showers. Turning I left her to her own devices and prayed that she wouldn't break anything. I stepped back out into the night noticing that the stars were particularly bright. With a sigh I marched down the street running through the discussion I had with Thalia. Part of me wanted to shrink away from the idea. I didn't need another fight, I didn't need more stress. Grumbling I didn't bother to go searching for other clothes she was the same height as me she could deal with what I brought her. Gathering up the clothes I had pulled from my dresser I made my way back to the bath house.

I followed the same path I had earlier. Instead of waltzing in though I paused. "Is it safe to enter?"

"Yeah!" I heard Thalia call back. I turned the corner awkwardly and found her leaning casually on the wall a towel wrapped snuggly around her. I held out the clothes which she took studying them carefully. With a shrug she left to change. I waited in silence feeling rather tired. She came back dressed in a purple camp shirt and a pair of exercise shorts. There was no point giving her an actual outfit, chances are she would be sleeping.

"What now?" She asked. Her hair was damp and sticking out crazily in all directions. I noticed the bright blue streaks that had been burried in dirt. Her skin was so white she practically glowed in the dark.

"I'll take you back to my place until I set up a place for you. You can sleep in Hylla's bed." She at my smiled though it was lopsided.

"You two share a house?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah. She visits from time to time." I shrugged. "Why?"

"Nothing, it's just Jason and I can hardly share a cabin together. I'm too much of a slob for him." Thalia tilted her head slightly to the side her eyes sparking in curiosity.  I spun on my heel making the other girl follow me. I didn't really like that prying look of hers. We walked in silence back to my house where I showed her to her temporary room. "Not bad!"

She looked over her shoulder with a satisfied expression before flicking off the lights to the room.
"Rest. I'll deal with you tomorrow."

She looked at me funny as I spoke, her eyes losing a bit of excitement. Her lips pressed together in a thin line and she glanced down at the floor. "Am I a problem?"

"Yes." I said with finality. She nodded before easing the door shut. I stood there for a moment slightly confused by what had just happened. With a shrug I walked down the hall to my own bedroom. I flopped onto the mattress letting out a sigh of relief, I had a few hours of sleep left, I had better make the most of it. I flicked off my lamp light and rolled onto my side staring blankly into the dark. What am I going to do with her? How...you know what. It's not your problem Reyna. You'll get her on her feet and send her off. Nothing more, nothing less. My thoughts swam in my head until I slowly drifted back off to sleep.