Just your average Saturday afternoon.

After Reyna's amazing chair smashing and Thalia's ninja moves, the four of us got ready to escape. The three ran ahead, and just as I was going to go after them, I heard Austin's voice.

"Don't leave me!" He wailed, and tried to push himself up, with his arms wobbling like he was sinking into quicksand, yet he collapsed onto the floor in pain, "Astra, I can't be alone again!" I stared at him with absolute disbelief. What happened to the strong, confident son of Apollo that I knew? His golden eyes began a small river of tears down the side of his cheek. Each fell onto the ground as if he was losing pieces of his soul.

I froze in my tracks; my brain told my feet to run away, but they wouldn't. "Astra!" I jolted at the sound of Lance's yell, "Come on!" Brain now fully functional, I hurried towards Lance, leaving the sobbing Austin behind. "What happened back there?" Lance demanded, grabbing my hand as we tried to escape the camp.

I shook my head, "I-I don't know."

"Hurry!" Thalia's shout echoed through the hall, "The Hunters' are waiting at the perimeter of the park! The semi-titans' aren't allowed to pass that point yet."

I turned back, looking at the room where Austin was, "But-."

"Stop worrying about him," Lance said, yanking me forward as if it'd make me run faster, "He betrayed us. We're not going to stop and get him." I continued to helplessly look back as the four of us ran out of the camp's perimeters.

* * *

"There!" Thalia pointed at a group of tents clustered together like a campsite. Apparently, our two horses managed to find themselves there and were being fed by a couple of hunters. Three girls stood guard, but as soon as they spotted Thalia, they gave space and pointed to the main tent. But as soon as I walked by, they glared at me so hard that I thought they were going to shoot me down as target practice. One in particular, with silver-like hair and strange orange eyes.

Maybe it was because I sweat too much when I run and I stank like a skunk.

Thalia pushed open the flap. It was quite empty, but the only thing in the room was a small, silver chair. A small chill blew through the room, tickling the back of my neck. "She's not here," Thalia muttered, "She was with us earlier, though."

"So you contacted the Hunters of Artemis instead of Leo?" I turned to Reyna, who wasn't even panting from our Olympic run.

She redid her braid, entangling each strand carefully. "Apparently they wanted to meet you?" Reyna said, but it sounded more like a question. Do I qualify as a celebrity in the Greek world?

Thalia, who wasn't introduced to Lance earlier, quickly grabbed the sides of his face and inspected him like a piece of treasure, "You look exactly like him. Except for the missing scar, of course; Annabeth wasn't lying." Tears tickled the corners of her lightning blue eyes, "You really did reincarnate."

"U-Uh," Lance stuttered, obviously flustered at the situation. He quickly pulled out some golden piece of jewelry out of his pocket and held it from afar like a piece of trash, causing Thalia to release her grip on him. "Now what do I do with this before anything gets worse?" It was in the vague shape of two serpents whose mouths opened to form a clasp, which was pretty cool but weird at the same time, and inlaid with lots of jewels.

"Is that the Necklace of Harmonia?" I asked, "Because, woah. I wouldn't mind owning that."

"We have to get it to Eris soon; it's almost Sunday and we need to get all the information we can get. We'll fly out in the evening," Reyna bit her thumbnail, "And we won't be able to stand the havoc that the necklace brings. I'm only assuming that the meet up with Austin was only a pint of what this necklace can give."

I frowned, still worrying about Austin's well-being. Yes, he betrayed us, and yes, I was obviously upset, but there has got to be more than feeling ashamed of his father. Thalia, noticing the worry on my face, pushed me out of the tent, "See that brown tent over there? That's the refreshments center; grab a drink. It looks like you'll need it. We'll make a plan and tell you when you come back."

"Want my company?" Lance winked, but I shoved him out of the way and left the tent.

"Whoever thought that a week away from camp could be so chaotic..?" I muttered to myself, shuffling my feet towards the tent. The chill was still hanging around, causing goose bumps down my arm. It's the dead of summer, and I'm cold, I wrinkled my nose, thinking to myself, although I shouldn't be complaining. As I entered the tent, the same three girls who were standing guard earlier were roasting some sort of meat over a small barbecue. The one with silver hair gave me a disregarding look, but turned back to her cooking. And boy, did it smell good.

Ask them for some, my stomach said, I'm hungry.

"You're a pig," I replied, not knowing I said it out loud. They gave me strange looks, but I laughed awkwardly like the awkward being I am and went to grab a cup of water off of a nearby table. Downing it quickly, I quickly dropped it in the nearest trash can and grabbed another out of dehydration.

The girl with silver hair left her cooking station and approached me, crossing her arms while doing so, "So. You're Astra?" She wore a white shirt with a silver jacket over it, completely matching her hair color. A small mole dotted the corner of her left eye. She had silver camo pants, which made me question how well they helped her blend in with her surroundings, and black combat boots to complete the look. A pair of knives were strapped at her hips, ready to stab whoever pisses her off.

I was halfway through my cup, so I tried to say "Yes", but it came out more like "Yfsh" and a volcano of water erupted from my mouth. Her face morphed into a disgusted look, and I quickly wiped my mouth in haste, "Whoops, didn't meant to make a mess."

"Probably because you already are one," She murmured, although I thought I heard her wrong. She held out a hand, "Ley."

"Oh, nice to meet you!" I wiped my wet hand on my pants and shook hers enthusiastically, "I hope we get to know each other well."

"I wish I could say the same," Ley quickly dropped my hand to scrub it on her shoulder like she touched dirt. "Listen, as long as you're here, there should be some things you should know." Her orange eyes sharply glared, seeming to cut through me like a sword.

"Yeah, sure," I leaned forward, not wanting to accidentally break some rule and having to sit in the corner for a time out from my mom.

With a swift moment that was too quick for me to notice, she grabbed my ponytail and pulled it, bringing my face close to hers. "All of us, even Thalia, despise you," She spat, and gestured for the two of her friends to come forward. One rushed to her side, holding a set of tongs with a blazing piece of coal held in between. I widened my eyes and tried to release myself, but the other grabbed my arms and held them behind my back. "You ruined this camp," Ley snarled like a hellhound, "You're the reason why we're falling apart. There are only five of us left here that believe in our Lady's virtue, and the war with Gaea hasn't helped. And since you've arrived, you've only caused things to be worse."

"You don't understand!" I shouted and continuing to struggle, "Artemis is still a maiden!"

"Even if we were to believe you, you're still her child," Ley gestured at the other girl to give her the tongs. She grabbed it enthusiastically and held it by my hair. "Besides that, you even going as far as having romantic affiliations with a male! Almost as worse as being our Lady's daughter. Ugh, he disgusts me."

"There is nothing that has been established yet," I groaned with the thoughts of Lance now entering my head. 

The strong smell of smoke wafted up my nose and I flinched at the smell. "Anyways, we're not going to harm you, but give you a good reminder that we hate you." Ley pressed the blazing coal against my ponytail, and I couldn't entirely see what was going on but had a pretty good guess that my hair was on fire.

Let me tell you it probably wasn't as elegant as Katniss Everdeen. 

"Trust me, seeing your face will be enough," I smirked. Swiftly, I swung my leg backwards, delivering a harsh blow to the girl holding me. She released her grip and stumbled backwards, quickly running out of the camp as if her life depended on it. It probably did. Ley dropped her tongs in surprise, and the coal fell to the ground while starting a little fire. I quickly grabbed any remaining cups of water and dumped them on the coal and on the tips of my hair.

The two backed up, but got into a fighting stance. They're hunters, I reminded myself, they're going to be good fighters. The water dripped down the side of my face and I wiped it off. Ley pulled out her two knives, holding one out in front of the other. The other held up her fists, but I bet they packed a punch waiting to hit me in the face. I calmly held my ponytail up in front of my nose, smelling the ashy scent. Come on, don't make that weird face; you'd do it too if your hair was as burned as a roasted marshmallow.

"Well, aren't you going to fight us?!" Ley screeched, "Daughter of Artemis?"

"Are you literally asking for a fight?" I leaned onto one leg, "Because I don't think that's a good idea." Immediately after I said that, the two jumped on me like a pair of hyenas. Stomping on my heels, I swung my leg forward, causing Ley to duck. I quickly tried to punch her, but she performed a back flip in escape. The other thrust her fist at my face, and I blocked it with my forearm.

We must've been causing a ruckus, because the three burst into the tent. "What in the world do you think you're doing?!" Thalia yelled, her Medusa shield open causing us to freeze.

"She started it, lieutenant!" Ley accusingly pointed at me, and I held up my hands in surrender instinctively. I did not want an angry Thalia sent my way.

Her eyes literally sparked, "Do not lie to me, Ley. I know you. And I know Astra." Lance shot me a look of concern but I made a circle with my hand, indicating that I was okay.

"But she did!" The silver girl whined, bending her knees and giving puppy eyes, "I wouldn't want to harm her! I have so much respect-."

"Not now," Thalia grit her teeth and held out her shield, and Ley winced, "She's here."

"What do you mean she?" I asked, turning to the tent's entrance. A small girl, about Serena's height stood there. She had an eerie silver glow, but then again, all the Hunters did. I assumed she was a semi-titan, but the way her dark eyes stared at me, something told me otherwise. She had auburn hair held back in a ponytail, and a silver bow hung over her shoulder.

Ley and the other girl let out a whimper and got onto their knees, honoring the girl who just entered. Lance and Reyna also bent over in a bow, but the auburn girl gestured at them to stop. She approached us, walking up to me without hesitation. She was only up to my chest in height, but I suddenly felt scared. As I looked closely, a splash for freckles were sprayed across the bridge of her nose. She reached up, touching the end of my ponytail. In an instant, the burned ends were revived. "There," She spoke quietly. Her voice blew over me like a fall breeze.

"T-Thanks?" I grabbed my hair, feeling its normal texture and sighing in relief, "You've gotta teach me that sort of voodoo magic."

"Is she normally like this?" Reyna whispered to Lance, and he nodded.

Thalia bowed as well, and said, "We honor your presence, my Lady."

"Y-Yes," Ley stuttered, "T-Thank you f-for-."

"Stop," She held out a hand, "We shall speak later, Ley. I am disappointed. Now leave." Ley, who obviously was upset that things weren't going her way, ran out of the tent with the other girl following right behind her.

"Wow," I whistled in amazement, "I want your sense of leadership."

Thalia rolled her eyes, obviously done with my stupidity. The girl chuckled, amused at my words. "You do not recognize me in this form, do you?"

"Form?"

She began to glow a bit brighter, and we all naturally adverted our eyes. As it faded, I brought my gaze back and my heart nearly stopped beating out of shock. She was held by a moonbeam that followed her every move. Tall, or rather, taller than me, and well-built as if she were ready to hunt down anything in sight. Shoulder length raven-black hair tickled her shoulders, and glowing silver eyes that intimidated me. She was in the same outfit as Ley, but made it look like something a god would wear.

I caught my breath, "Mom?"

Artemis smiled, "Hello, darling. We have a lot to talk about."

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Mm, mixed emotions about this one. Not entirely hating it, though.

By the way, it's about to be that time of year again... *whispers* FINALS. THE END OF ME. So if you're going to be expecting an update, chances are that there aren't going to be any. Don't comment "Please update!". It's about to be dead week and I haven't studied yet...

(What's the deal with Austin?)

Drop a vote/comment if you enjoyed! Use a pun with dumplings if you hate Ley!

XOXO,
Arisa