[audi, vide, tace / hear, see, be silent]

Tessa shuffled down the trails, her knuckles white on the hilt of Tempest. Her heart pounded like a bass drum in her chest, hammering along as she followed the smoky shroud deeper into camp.

For a moment, she glanced back down the trail. It wasn't too late to turn back and get help. Maybe...No.

Tessa bit back her fears and turned around again. She gasped at where the shroud stood. It was atop the steps leading into the Big House, its windows almost as dark as what this thing was made of. It stood near the doorway, darkness billowing around it. It seemed to be waiting for her.

Tessa took a deep breath. She climbed the steps.

The shroud seemed relieved, because it continued on. It floated above the hardwood floors, weaving in and out of rooms and hallways until it reached the staircase. Tessa followed, trying to avoid the squeaky floorboards and prevent Chiron and Mr. D from waking.

She hurried up the stairs, following the shroud. She winced at every noise her footsteps made, but no one seemed to be on the verge of apprehending her. However, that frightened her. If this shroud was something less than friendly, would anyone hear her and try to help?

Finally, just when the anticipation was overwhelming her, the shroud stopped at the top of the stairs. A door was behind it, and the shroud moved aside as if beckoning Tessa forward. Come on, kid, I don't have all day.

"What, you want to show me something in the attic?" Tessa hissed.

The shroud didn't speak, which was just as well. If it did, she might have screamed. Tessa set her jaw and started forward. The closer she got to the shroud, the more she felt jittery, like this thing was nothing but darkness and mysteries. Tessa forced the feeling away, reaching forward and gripping the doorknob to the attic.

She swung it open and ushered herself inside. The only light in the haphazard room came from Tempest, whose Celestial bronze glow cast shadows along the boxes and spoils of war. Dust coated a majority of the objects, and Tessa stepped carefully around the larger boxes and crates.

"What did you want to show me...?" Tessa began to say, but her voice died as she turned around. The shroud was gone.

A flare of panic sparked in Tessa's stomach. Her instincts were telling her to make a run for it, to trap the shroud up here and get help...but she turned back around and there it was, standing in the far corner of the room next to a large circular object on the wall.

Tessa came closer, holding Tempest up for light. The shroud was only five feet away, but her eyes were drawn to the object it seemed to be showing her.

It was about three feet in diameter, standard shield size, with a large dent in the center, where what looked to have once been a lion was engraved. The shield was made out of bronze, but looking at it for that long started to make Tessa jittery.

Tessa glanced at the shroud, who appeared to be gazing at the shield as well. Well, if shrouds had eyes, anyway.

"Whose is this?" Tessa asked quietly. She held Tempest closer to it, trying to read the tag that hung above it, only to discover that there was none. A shield without a name or victor who had claimed it hung in the attic, its meaning and history unknown.

"It doesn't even have a history. What's so important about this?" Tessa took a step back, looking at the shroud.

Then, as if to answer her, one of the shroud's tendrils began to solidify into a smoky hand. It stretched back to the shield, pointing at the dented lion in the center of it, then pointed at itself.

Tessa narrowed her vision. "Lemme get this straight," she said. "The lion...is you?"

If shrouds could look done with everything, then that's what vibe Tessa was getting from this one in particular. Assertively, the shroud stabbed its finger back at the shield and back at itself. The shadows it was made of began to waver, and Tessa could vaguely depict a human figure that they were trying to form. She looked back at the shield.

Then it hit her.

"Oh, it's your shield!" Tessa exclaimed. "Why didn't you just say that to begin with?"

The shroud's hand dropped to its side. Obviously, it was losing its patience and Tessa was pushing her luck. However, the shadows were beginning to form a man of darkness.

"Okay, well, if it's your shield, then who are you?" Tessa asked.

Just as the shadows were beginning to solidify, Tessa heard footsteps on the stairs. Her eyes widened and she jumped. Someone was coming.

The shroud disintegrated, its audience with Tessa was now hastily interrupted. Tessa was frozen, trying to find a place to hide as the footsteps got louder. She tapped Tempest's hilt, and held onto it in pin form as she ducked behind a large stack of crates.

The attic door opened and Tessa's heartbeat pounded in her chest. Who would be up here this late? Well, besides Tessa and shrouds whose possessions were up here.

Footsteps started towards Tessa, and she had no choice but to hurry to the opposite side of the stack of crates as whoever it was got closer. Now, with the intruder's back to her, Tessa had the advantage.

It was too dark to see their face, but they had auburn hair pulled into a ponytail. They shuffled over to one of the half-open crates on the floor, bending down and searching inside of it. At last, they pulled out a vial of something that glowed and Tessa bit back a gasp as the light illuminated their face.

What was Sophia doing up here with a vial of Greek fire?

Tessa probably resembled a tree frog for how wide her eyes had gotten, but she hurried back around the crates as Sophia pocketed the vial and hurried out of the attic, racing down the stairs as fast as she dared.

Once the coast was clear, Tessa turned Tempest back into a sword for light. She stepped out from her hiding spot, her mind running wild. She knew Sophia was a sketchy person, but this topped the charts.

Huffing a breath, Tessa shot one last look at the shield behind her. Its inky owner was nowhere to be seen but as Tessa hurried out the doorway, she thought she saw the shroud standing guard over it once more.

~~

The next morning, Tessa missed breakfast.

As soon as she had gotten back to her cabin from the Big House that night, something had triggered a drive of determination inside of her. She had gotten out every book on mythology that she owned, and tried to study up on lions in mythology to figure out who the shroud could possibly be.

So naturally, she fell asleep with her head in a book.

Her dreams were different, which was strange. Instead of walking through a dark and twisting cavern, she stood atop a glimmering citadel. Music played, fountains bubbled, and nymphs and godlings walked to and fro.

Olympus.

Tessa walked down the stone pathways, noting how she resembled some minor god herself with the flowing dress she was somehow wearing. Regardless, she found herself walking to the throne room of the gods, something that she had only heard about and dreamed about seeing in person.

However, that's when the dream got fuzzy. Two gods occupied the room, and they looked to be in mid-argument. One wore blue and the other wore a robe of blood red, his eyes wild with flames.

The dream began to slip away, and Tessa woke up to a hand on her shoulder.

She freaked, to say the least. She kicked the chair away from her, shooting up and unsheathing Tempest as she knocked the person to the ground. She pressed the tip above the person's neck, straddling them so they couldn't move. And all in a few seconds.

Her face turned as red as the robes of the god in her dreams when she realized the person she had suddenly attacked was Kaden.

"Kaden!" She yelped. "Oh my gods, I'm so sorry."

Despite it all, Kaden smiled. His cheeks were tinged pink but his green eyes sparkling in amusement. "Good morning to you too, Tess." 

Tessa bit her lip. She lowered her sword arm, petrified in utter embarrassment. She had the strangest urge to check her appearance, but she fought it.

Besides, as Mark appeared in the doorway, her face only reddened even more. The son of Iris's eyes widened in utter horror and shock, bracing himself against the doorway. "Oh, come on you guys! The door's open and everything! Don't you two ever want privacy?"

Tessa's embarrassment was replaced by rage. She calmly got off of Kaden, grabbed her sword, and leant calmly against one of the posts of her bed. "Can I help you both?" She glanced from Mark to Kaden.

Kaden blinked, frazzled. "Oh, um, well," he stammered, his cheeks reddening. He cursed in Ancient Greek, unable to meet Tessa's eyes. "I'll see you guys at Bunker Nine." And with that, Kaden rushed out of Cabin Three.

Mark sighed. "He's lovestruck," he said, shaking his head at Kaden as he watched him go. The almond eyed boy turned back to Tessa with a devilish grin. "What that eloquent orator was trying to say was Calum and Nova have their battle plan drafted and they want us to come see it at Bunker Nine."

Tessa ran a hand through her hair. "Already? That was fast." She yawned, stretching a bit.

Mark knit his eyebrows. "Tessa, don't take this the wrong way, but you look like the dead. Did you get any sleep?"

Tessa sighed. She grabbed a water bottle off of her desk and took a sip. Instantly, her energy reserves began to restore themselves but if she didn't get some sleep within the hour or so, she'd be done for. "Some," she said innocently.

"What do you mean 'some'?" Mark folded his arms and leant against the doorway.

Tessa chewed on her lip. "I'll, uh, tell you later."

Mark arched an eyebrow, but the look in Tessa's eyes must've been intense enough to keep him from pushing the subject. He sighed in defeat. "Oh, alright. But if I don't get answers by dinner, I'm putting a detail on you."

"Yeah, yeah." Tessa waved her hand at him. She grabbed a fresh outfit from her drawers, ducked into the bathroom and changed, and hurried back out, tying her mane of dark hair into a high ponytail.

"Come on, Sleeping Beauty, our allies await," Mark said wistfully, before bursting into a grin and heading off with Tessa.

~~

In short, Bunker Nine was massive. Tessa had only been inside a handful of times, but each time the vastness of the cavern was enough to wow her. It was easily the size of an airport hangar, with work tables and machines and other Hephaestus-related gadgets scattering the room.

Tessa stood around one of these work tables, Kaden flanking her. Mark and Dale were on opposite ends, and the Hephaestus twins, Calum and Nova, were on the opposite side of Kaden and herself. A handful of blueprints and maps of the forest were sprawled across the steel work table.

"So we have the Apollo archers divided into two groups. One on the offense, one on the defense. Offensive side goes to search for the Red flag, while defense guards our home base. Tessa and I will lead a small group to apprehend the flag, while you both," Kaden explained, pointing to Calum and Nova, "prepare to fire the traps."

Nova smirked. Her mane of curly dark hair was tied back in a bandanna, and her arms were folded across her chest. "Works for me," she said, looking over at her brother.

Mark made a time out symbol. "Woah, woah, hold it. What are Dale and I supposed to do?"

Calum unrolled one of the maps, which had traces and x's as to where his traps would go. "You both are going to lead small individual teams to release the distractions. I spoke with Amelie and she said her siblings would be able to come up with something to distract Sophia's scouts."

Dale grinned. "We've got this." She gave Mark a knowing look. The two seemed to be working out a mental strategy before their eyes. Even Calum and Nova looked confused.

Tessa watched them intricately, when a voice whispered in her ear.

"And they call us lovebirds," Kaden whispered in her ear softly, a laugh in his voice. His breath touched her skin, sending a shiver down her spine.

"Heard that!" Dale called.

"You were supposed to!" Kaden retorted, a grin on his face.

Tessa managed a weak laugh, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Kaden straightened up and addressed the group. "Well, that settles it!" He clapped his hands together. "Who's up for lunch?"

Everyone broke formation and started leaving the table. Chatter and laughter erupted, but Tessa lagged behind. She stared intently at one of the maps, trying to work something out.

"Hey, Tessa, you coming?" Calum asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Tessa forced herself to avert her gaze from the map. "Yeah. Just...what do the Nike kids usually do during Capture the Flag?"

Kaden glanced at the others before looking at Tessa, stepping closer. "They're usually leading the central battle. Why?"

Tessa bit her lip in concentration. She stared at the map, trying to work out a strategy as to what Sophia could be planning for the five Nike kids, but sighed as nothing came to mind. "Never mind." She looked back up at the group, watching her expectantly, and smiled. "Lunch?"

Together, the six demigods headed out of Bunker Nine and through the forest back to camp. As they walked through, Tessa smiled, noting the camaraderie of camp. She loved seeing how all of the kids here were heroes, had abilities and skills that no average human could possess, and could literally change the world. And yet, they still faced simple things like chores, drama, and the normal events of a teenager's life. Best of both worlds.

They were passing the amphitheater when Tessa spotted the shroud. She froze, her eyes widened. If this thing was trying to be stealthy, appearing in broad daylight was not a good idea. It stood at the base of the massive fire-pit, as if anticipating a campfire to be initiating.

"Tessa? Something wrong?" Dale asked. Calum and Nova had hurried on to lead their cabin to lunch, but Mark and Kaden stood behind Dale as she looked at Tessa with concern.

Tessa forced herself to look away from the shroud, her hand resting on Tempest at her side. "What, you don't see that?"

Kaden furrowed his eyebrows. "See what?" He looked over Tessa's shoulders but shook his head. "Nope, nothing."

Mark started forward. "Tessa, you haven't slept, you're seeing things. Come on, we can grab you something to eat and get you a nap." He reached for her but Tessa was already hurrying down to the amphitheater.

But as soon as she got in proximity to the shroud, she was knocked off of her feet as the dormant fire-pit ignited in an eruption of black flame and energy, as if the shroud had changed form into an obsidian inferno.