renjun laid on his back on the grass, next to the small cascade of the nearby watercourse, far from the noisy life of the camp.

he was thinking, his eyes closed to enjoy the warm sun hitting his face gracefully.

no one was there to disturb him, which was something he truly appreciated.

it was just him, the waterfall's clear noise, the glowing sun and the peaceful sound of the birds chirping. renjun loved nature.

"what did you say, sofia?" he asked, keeping his eyes closed.

a white and majestic owl flew towards him, landing on the ground, a few centimetres away from him. it whistled, producing a beautiful sound.

"who?!" renjun asked, sitting up immediately.

as the son of athena, he could communicate with owls, the birds of wisdom.

he even had one, sofia, a beautiful white female owl that tagged along with him everywhere he got.

"h-hello..." a voice spoke, disturbing the majestic sounds of the nature.

renjun looked at the boy that had disturbed his moment, the corners of his lips rising unconsciously.

"hello, jeno." he spoke. "aren't you with donghyuck?"

jeno shook his head. "i left him with chenle and jisung."

"okay."

the two boys looked at each other in silence, the nature taking over the conversation.

"have a sit." renjun said, detaching his eyes from the handsome male standing in front of him.

"sure." jeno smiled, taking place next to renjun, on the green grass.

"how did you find me?"

"chenle told me you stayed there when you wanted to think."

renjun cursed under his breath, making a mental note to scold chenle for telling the location of his happy place to someone.

well, he wouldn't scold him that much, because he knew jeno was a man of confidence, he could see it in his eyes. plus, jeno was handsome and charismatic, and renjun wouldn't mind having him around more often.

"you wanted to ask me something?"

"yeah..." jeno replied. "do you know where jaemin could be?"

"we're not the best of friends..." renjun chuckled. "why would you ask me that?"

"every single time i saw you, you were with him." jeno explained.

renjun thought for a second, realising jeno was right.

jaemin and him shared a good part of their time together.

not that they were un separable friends. far from that actually.

but they did spend lot of time together.

"our relationship works on rivalry." renjun told. "we're always trying to be better than the other. in everything we do."

"i noticed it."

"and if you think about it, it's a pretty good strategy to have a long-lasting relationship. there will always be something to prove the other, and so, there will always be a possible conflict to entertain the relationship."

jeno laughed at renjun's explanation.

it was funny how he saw everything from the strategic side.

"but you're not with him now." jeno noted.

"of course not. i would never show this arrogant boy my secret happy place."

"i'm sorry i asked chenle about it then..." jeno apologized, realising he may have intruded athena's son privacy.

"it's okay." renjun smiled at him. "i can sense you are trustworthy and that you don't want to hurt me."

jeno smiled. "so, our relationship won't be based on rivalry?"

"you know, basing a relationship on trust and friendship can also be a good strategy." renjun said, pink dusting his cheeks.

"let's try it then." jeno winked, making renjun's heart miss a beat.

"jaemin was looking for someone to do his quest with this morning." renjun told after a few seconds.

"aren't you usually together for quests?" jeno asked.

"yeah. but he says he's tired of me." renjun explained. "but he'll come back to me after realising that no one fits the place as good as me anyway."

jeno laughed at renjun's words.

"you know which quest you're going to apply for?" he asked.

renjun shook his head. "coming back to me could take him weeks. i'm waiting until then to choose. what about you?"

"well, i am authorized not to apply to a quest." jeno told. "as donghyuck's protector, i can stay at the camp to watch over him."

"so, he won't go on a quest either?"

"no. he should stay there. this way, he'll be safe. plus, he needs to train more before being allowed to fight for something else."

renjun nodded. "yeah. i noticed he didn't have the same reflexes as the other demigods. strangely, his instincts aren't those of a fighter."

"i don't know why..." jeno told. "but people shouldn't know that."

"yeah." renjun approved. "telling this out loud is sending him to his death."

a comfortable silence settled between the boys, allowing them to hear the sound of the nearby waterfall.

the two demigods looked at the beautiful nature around them.

the water running.

the trees agitating because of the slight wind.

the birds flying around.

everything mother nature could offer them.

jeno coughed after a dozen of minutes, breaking the peaceful silence.

"i should go and look for jaemin." he said, rising to his feet.

"can i ask you why you need him?" renjun asked curiously.

"sure." jeno smiled while dusting his pants. "i needed to ask him some piece of advice about fighting techniques."

"oh, okay." renjun nodded. "i guess i can't help then. aside from strategy, i'm a bit lost."

"don't say that! i'm sure your advice would be awesome." jeno reassured the small boy. "but i'm more of a fighter if you know what i mean."

renjun looked at jeno from head to toe, his eyes dragging on his muscular arms that were visible thanks to the tank top jeno was wearing.

damn, that boy was a blessing.

"yeah... i see." renjun flushed red at his own thoughts.

jeno chuckled, seeing how renjun had become a shy mess.

"i'm going." he said. "it was a pleasure talking to you."

"same here." renjun told shyly.

"and from now on, i know where to find you." jeno added with a wink.

"yeah..." renjun's face got even redder.

"see you renjun!"

"see you." the boy said, waving his hand while watching jeno disappear in the nature.

renjun turned around, facing his owl.

"oh my god, can i be more awkward?" renjun sighed.

the owl whistled, making renjun glare at her.

"sofia, i swear that if you continue making fun of me, i'll cut your wings."

the owl stopped whistling immediately as renjun laid down again on the grass.

he took a few deep breaths to calm his erratic heart before closing his eyes again.

"it's incredible how much jeno is a perfect boy." renjun spoke.

he waited a few seconds for a reply, but sofia didn't whistle back.

renjun opened an eye, looking at his pet.

"cat got your tongue?"

sofia whistled, dissing renjun.

"yeah, yeah." renjun closed his eye again. "he impersonates perfectly zeus. no wonder he is his son."

sofia whistled.

"what do you mean, i don't know him well enough? i can read him like an open book. there is no ounce of bad in him. he is just... perfect."

the owl didn't answer. she preferred flying away than listening to renjun's ramblings about jeno.

"yeah, okay... leave me alone." renjun rolled his eyes. "this way i can think about him as much as i want."

renjun sighed, letting his mind wander to jeno and the things they had talked about.

he was about to fall asleep, rocked by the sounds of mother nature, when a loud voice startled him.

someone was speaking, using the megaphones of the camp, which could only mean one thing: there was a problem.

he paid attention to the messaged that blasted full volume through the speakers and widened his eyes in shock.

"THE HALFBLOOD CAMP IS BEING ATTACKED, EVERYONE AT HIS POST, FIGHT FOR YOUR BLOOD. I REPEAT, THE HALFBLOOD CAMP IS BEING ATTACKED..."