Despite what others believe, Briar had never been in trouble before. Has she caused trouble? Yes. But never has she sat in front of Chiron with his authoritative aura and look of disappointment. She has cut, slashed, stabbed, and broken bones during past capture the flag games, yet, Chiron had a problem with her binding another in shadows. It was almost comical. That was crossing the line? Even the nightmares had been a step too far in the centaurs opinion. He had Dahlia Primavera — Thing 1 and a daughter of Demeter — come to him once she snapped out of it, going into detail of everything Briar had forced her to see.

Dahlia, herself choking and gurgling on water as she sunk to the bottom of the ocean. The experience playing on a loop.

It wasn't the worst thing Briar could imagine. If anything that was tame. The nightmare would not have made it difficult for Dahlia to get on with her night — only the nightmare state had lasted till early morning, Chiron had informed her. But as Dahlia was one of the younger campers and adamant on Briar not getting away with that behavior, the teen was forced to apologize and clean all of the gear used for last night's game.

The task had lasted far longer than necessary with Clarisse coming to the Armory in a fit of rage. After the game Percy Jackson had been claimed by the Sea God, marking him a forbidden child of the Big Three like few suspected. The daughter of Ares had been wrathful while foaming at the corners of her mouth. While she could not go after Percy with the name of Poseidon protecting him on the grounds, she could direct that anger at another.

Briar wasn't welcoming or one to comfort but when a camper was in need she was there. She was not a loyal friend who would deliver guidance, she just listened. So there Briar sat for an hour and a half with Clarisse going off about Percy breaking the staff from her father, him being claimed by someone of such great power while he himself was plain, how he had been attacked by a Hellhound after ( nobody would fess up to who invited it in, though Clarisse clarified that Thing 3 was loud with her accusations of it being Briar ) and that she was forced to bow to him.

Briar felt pride in herself for not being as clueless as everyone else had been. It was obvious Poseidon was the boy's father, even if you took away his talents in water based areas. They looked alike. Their eyes were the same, they even held the same light when excited over something so minor. It was disgusting.

"And Chiron thinks he's destined for greatness!" Clarisse kicked over one of the stands holding the previously cleaned swords — Ares' daughter shifted her weight under the blank stare she received but continued. "But above that he broke my spear! The punk is gonna get it some day!"

Briar didn't understand the sentiment of objects just because they were gifted by a loved one. She would never begin to fully grasp the importance the spear meant to Clarisse. Maybe it should have saddened her to know there was yet another thing separating her from the people around her, but she felt relieved. Being guided by anger and sorrow could lead you down a dangerous path. Either for yourself or those dragged into your mess.

"It was a gift," Clarisse frowned while glaring down at her hands. They turned to fists as her head shot up seconds later. Teeth bared at Briar who remained silently watching as always. "Say something!"

  "What do you want me to say, LaRue?" She knew what she wanted to say though. It's pathetic to cry over a broken toy, but that would be insensitive.

  Clarisse huffed, "I don't know — forget about it." She stomped out of the Armory with stiff shoulders and her usual sneer.

  Forgetting about the spear and Clarisse's frustration was easy when Briar didn't truly care. There was a difference between doting on her campmates and being sympathetic. She will never turn her back on them but she won't go out of her way to understand anyone either. They had siblings for that reason.

Briar had recleaned each and every one of the swords Clarisse had knocked over before she was released to her daily activities with the rest of cabin eleven. Some of them had looked at her strangely but it was no different than every day before then. Onyx had been excited for the climbing wall while Alkimini looked forward to volleyball. Briar, however, wanted a long nap.

Since joining her cabin she had been rubbing at her eyes and yawning constantly which in turn made the others just as tired. Her eyes were barely open when Onyx began his climb and fully closed when his feet touched back on the ground. She stood in the back of the group with her wings beating behind her to keep her upright. That didn't last long before she fell face first against the grass. She stayed there, grumbling incoherent words but ultimately fell into a silent slumber.

Connor Stoll bent down to poke her cheek while his older brother went and did the same to her other side. The two shared a look and laughed till Luke hushed them. Not that any sound could wake the daughter of Hypnos. She was the deepest sleeper he had ever met, sometimes it lasted days instead of hours. Sleep was important for all children of Hypnos, though Briar forces herself to stay awake as long as possible for reasons unknown to anyone who tried befriending the girl. The only one who could shed some light was Annabeth but she'd been lost in her own thoughts since last night.

While a couple others started climbing the wall, Percy hesitantly walked over to Luke. Unsure if he was still included in their schedule now that he was placed in cabin three, all alone. The eldest among them gave him a nod in greeting but his eyes shifted between Travis Stoll on the wall and Briar on the ground with her wings sprawled out. Percy looked down too — his shoulders tensed when the feathers bristled but released a sigh of relief when she didn't wake up.

Not that Percy was afraid of Briar. No, far from it. He was intrigued by her appearance and the way she carried herself. The only daunting trait was the air around her. The one that made him feel cold all over and like something bad was going to happen. Grover and Luke both had said it was normal for children of the Underworld while Annabeth got defensive, telling him his own unwelcomed trait was his idiocy.

"What are you doing here Percy?" Luke asked, not unkindly.

"I thought I could uh join you?" He didn't know what he was supposed to do, if things were to go as they had been since he first got to camp or if he suddenly was alone again.

"The councilors of each cabin usually pick their activities and stick with the kids assigned to them." Luke scratched the back of his neck with her brows drawn together all the while Percy looked defeated. He didn't want to be isolated from the one place he felt welcomed already.

"Let him stay." A groggy voice came from below. Her face hidden in her arms and hair unkept from rolling onto her back.

"You're awake." Luke stuck a hand out to help her up but Briar ignored the gesture like the limb was poisonous.

She stood on her own and didn't bother whipping the grass from her jeans and shirt, only plucking the blades from her curls. "Power nap." She responded shortly.

  Percy was alone, no siblings or friends to spend his time with. Annabeth scowled any time he tried talking to her outside of Ancient Greek lessons and Grover always seemed to be busy. He felt just as he did every time he was forced into a new school — though maybe now it wasn't so bad? For the past two days Percy had been able to stick with cabin eleven, if only because Briar and Luke saw no reason for him to be forced into isolation.

  Though it did not help his nights any. He would sit at his table alone, clean the cabin alone, and sleep alone. It made him feel like just another outcast. Percy wanted his mom. He wanted to be wrapped in her arms as she whispered "everything will be okay" against his hair. He needed her. More now than ever.

  Hatred soured in his heart anytime he thought of his father and how he could just abandon them, especially his mom when she needed him most. It angered him. Disgust for the god only grew each night Percy slept in his cabin. He had nothing to distract his mind from thoughts of the dead-beat. The cabin was too quiet, he couldn't do quiet.

  Things for his temper only got worse when a newspaper was outside on his porch. An article written by Eileen Smythe went into detail on the burned car while also painting Percy as the main suspect in his own mother's disappearance. He felt sick. And of course his step-father Gabe Ugliano, Ugly Gabe, went ahead in an interview to let everyone know he was a troubled kid and at times violent. "I'll show you violent" Percy grumbled to himself while thinking of ways to make Gabe suffer.

  His dreams weren't helping his foul mood either. It had been the same thing since being claimed by Poseidon. They started with him running along the shore in a wild storm. The wind threatened to send him flying. Behind him was a city he couldn't recognize but the noise was drowned by the sounds of thunder and lightning. A hundred yards from where Percy stood, two figures who looked like pro-wrestlers in the traditional Greek tunics for the gods fought. Blue versus green. As they fought the sky darkened and the ground shook with tremors. Percy would try fighting against the wind to reach the figures but it felt as if he were running in place.

  To the twelve year old it sounded like they were fighting over something stolen. One demanded it back while the other claimed not to have whatever it was. His brows drew together in frustration, his feet and wind keeping him from getting close. The ground shook again, but unlike the times before, this one felt threatening. It put him on edge and that panic only worsened when a dark voice cooed to him. "Come down, little hero." It beckoned. "Come down!" The sand split to form a whole of nothing but black. Percy tried scrambling away but fell into the hole. His senses were gone.

  In the quiet of his cabin Percy shot up in bed covered in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. He moved the curtain away from the window to see it was morning. He felt relieved but a storm was brewing. And there he was hoping those dreams were just Briar messing with him.

Percy was beginning to tire of everything. Grover had gone to collect him that morning to bring him to the Big House on request of Mr. D and Chiron. There he had been unwelcome by the god — as Percy predicted he would be — and told of Zeus and Poseidon fighting. Of course it had been over something stolen like in his dreams, the master bolt. It interested the boy but he hadn't understood where the discussion was going.

Zeus wanted Percy to bring him the stolen lightning bolt as a peace offering on behalf of Poseidon. A quest, the fucking god of the skies wanted him to go out there again. He would have to face monsters, ones bigger and deadlier than the Minotaur. Even the Minotaur had been a bit much for Percy. The only reason he hadn't freak out when attacking the damned thing was because of his mom. He had been blinded by rage and heartbreak.

Could he have turned down the quest? Yes, and maybe he would have but Zeus was punishing all of Half-Blood Hill because of him. His mouth had soured when watching the Apollo kids frown. He couldn't let the others suffer for something Zeus thought he had done.

That left Percy to where he was now, sitting at the pinochle table with Chiron and Grover. He had met with the Oracle; a woman who resembled an unwrapped mummy. The air around her wasn't threatening as much as it was creepy. Nothing against the spooky attic-lady but Percy hoped to never see her again.

"Well?" Chiron asked from his wheelchair.

"She said I would retrieve what was stolen." Or Zeus is going through a huge fit.

Grover chewed on the Coke can — something Percy still wasn't used to — and said "That's great!" As if a quest was something to get excited over. It wasn't. Especially when the boy had so many questions.

"What else did the Oracle say?" Chiron leaned forward, eyes widened just enough to alarm the dark haired boy across from him. "This is important."

Percy gulped. He didn't want to worry Chiron or anyone. The fate of the world was on his shoulders. He was just a boy, twelve and new to the world of gods and monsters. How could anyone expect him to be a hero? "She said I would go west and face a god who has turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned." He lied, lied knowing his mom would have scolded him if she were there.

"I knew it!"

Chiron lifted a hand to silence Grover's cheering. "What else?"

"I will help the unkend, whatever that means." He threw his hands in expiration. Why did prophecies have to be spoken like a riddle? Couldn't they have come with step-by-step instructions instead.

"Strange."

"Yeah it's strange —"

Chiron shook his head, " No. It means strange." He picked up his cards while gesturing for Grover to do the same. "You will help someone strange along the way."

"Can we stop repeating that word?" Percy leaned his head back against the chair. Unkend, betrayed by a friend, he would fail? He didn't want to think about it.

"Is there anything more?" Chiron asked.

Lying again, Percy shook his head. "That's about it."

Chiron looked like he didn't believe him at first but allowed Percy to keep his secrets — for now. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."

✧˖*°࿐

Briar hated quests. Has she mentioned that? Playing errand-boy for the gods was the worst way she could think of spending her time. Especially if it's for Zeus. And she would say to his face too, if she ever got the opportunity. If Annabeth and Grover wanted to risk death on account of helping the gods who went around ruining lives; then be her guest. But count Briar out.

"Go away, Chase." She grumbled into her pillow while swatting the blonde's hand away. For the past six minutes Annabeth, Percy, and Grover stood around her bunk trying to get her up.

  Percy had said they should leave without her while Annabeth was adamant on her old friend being part of the quest. Percy had also suggested leaving Annabeth behind but Grover thought that was a horrible idea.

  "I already packed your bag." Annabeth crossed her arm while Grover held up the slightly worn pink backpack. On it were pins of different bands the girl enjoyed: Nirvana, Blink-182, Green Day, Type O Negative, etcetera. There was another one on the left strap with the colors: pink, purple, blue. They had been there since the last time Luke came back from a quest of his own. Gifting them to his bunkmate. "You're going."

  Briar turned her head, loose strands of blue falling over her eye that bore into Annabeth's. "I'm not helping the gods."

  Percy could understand that. Truly, he could. What have they ever done for their children and the mothers of those children? Nothing. But he kept his mouth shut — with great struggle. Grover and he glanced back at one another, one with a nervous look in his eyes while the other looked almost sympathetic. Percy had heard things about Briar around camp, about her father. How he had claimed her only to then go back to pretending like she never existed.

  Hypnos never visited her dreams like the Oneiroi would. The one and only time she gave an offering at age ten it did not burn. The god turned a blind eye to her, rejecting her despite being claimed. That single attempt had been a failure. She did not try again — even with Annabeth's attempt to persuade her for the two years following — if he wanted no part of her then she wanted no part of him.

  Leah would hate her if she tried anyway. She was sure of it.

  "You'd be helping Percy." Annabeth knew that if she wanted Briar involved in this quest she would have to play into her obsession of leaving no demigod behind. It was wrong to twist Briar's abandonment issues into a weapon. She knew that, but Briar needed to be there. Annabeth was no oracle and will never pretend to be — she did not want that fate — but she had this feeling twisting in the pit of her stomach. The thought of leaving without an extra edge had her fingers twitching. It was barely noticeable but Briar had caught it. "You'd be helping me. We need you."

  At that moment Briar hated Annabeth. Not to the extent of the Olympians but enough for the older girl to silently pray for her to disappear. Briar was tired. She already had to deal with six campers ranting to her about their problems all because she was unable to walk away, and they knew that. But now she was being roped into a quest. Something Annabeth knew she never cared for.

  "Sometimes I want to hate you." Briar sat up, eyes still trained on the blonde. She jumped from the top bunk and accepted the backpack from Grover. Looking inside she saw: a change of clothes, her toothbrush, and two short knives. Annabeth knew Briar preferred light packing and only necessities over anything else. "Get out so I can change." She looked between the three standing in her cabin, each turning to the door. Though Percy lingered for a moment longer, just looking at her with an odd sense of sadness. She hated it. She hated when he looked at her.

Eventually the trio left Briar alone to discard the bright camp shirt and replace it with a solid black one to match with distressed jeans. After lacing her sneakers she reached under Alkimini's bed to retrieve her sword — Soul Splitter — and sheathed it through the scabbard across her back. Alkimini was the trusted protector of the blade, someone not even the Stoll brothers would bring themselves to steal from. She had no qualms with violence to act as Soul Splitter's guard, unlike Onyx who only raised his own sword or fist when necessary.

Briar hiked up Half-Blood Hill where she saw the three waiting at a tree that once was Zeus' daughter. Thalia Grace was someone Briar had never met but she sympathized with her — despite the grating voices in her head screaming at her to despise the demigod. She was a tree now anyway. Anything touched by the gods was bound to wilt, that included their children. Zeus may have 'saved' his daughter by turning her into the one thing protecting camp but all Briar saw was another young girl being made into what the gods wanted. A hero to do their work. They would not protect camp but instead a barrier will.

Chiron was there too, looking directly at her. If he had a problem with four going on this quest instead of three he said nothing. Instead he offered a kind smile that put Briar on edge. It reminded her of the times Leah would smile around the house with white powder on her nose and a roll between her fingers. While the smiles were warm and welcome they were also rare and always had a different reasoning behind them than just kindness. Leah's were from a temporary bliss while Chiron's were to cover whatever thoughts were swarming his mind.

Don't get Briar wrong, she likes Chiron. But he believes in the gods too much for her to fully trust him. The screams did not enjoy his loyalty either. When the girl stood behind Grover a ringing filled her ears that sounded eerily like a siren's screech before turning to the wailing of a child — it sounded too close to her own.

Did she know why she heard things others could not? No. Did she want to know why? Also no. If she went searching for answers then it proved that the voices were more than just her imagination, she would have to label herself crazy. Briar would rather live obliviously.

"This is Argus," he told Percy while gesturing to the man with multiple eyes dressed in a chauffeur's uniform. "He will be driving you into the city and keeping an eye on things."

Briar counted all of Argus' visible eyes: nine excluding the two everyone else is born with. There was no reason for this other than to keep the girl from becoming bored with standing around. But the counting did make her tired. She hid the yawn in her elbow but Percy looked back at her quizzically. What was he expecting? Briar was the daughter of Sleep and with everyone treating her like their therapist she was bound to be exhausted.

"Hey!" The group heard Luke yell as he neared, a pair of sneakers in hand. "Glad I caught you."

Annabeth began to blush when her eyes found Luke, it made Briar internally shudder. And maybe a little irritated.

Briar ignored the entire interaction between Luke and the others by leaning against Thalia's tree, her eyes closed and hands folded in front of her. She was aware of Luke moving on to shake hands and hug them goodbye but thankfully he respected Briar's wishes to not be touched. It was a rule she had. Physical contact was not something she welcomed. She did, however, give a nod in acknowledgment. One he returned.

With the departure of Luke, Percy turned to Annabeth with a teasing grin. "You're hyperventilating."

"Am not," Annabeth puffed her cheeks while staring at him without blinking. As if that would convince him she was serious.

Briar, with a look of indifference, said "you were blushing."

Percy pointed his thumb in the older girl's direction with his thumb sideways. A triumphant glint in his eyes caught Briar's breath in her throat. His stupid eyes. "She saw it too." Then a thought came to him, one that made the boy cover his laugh with a cough. "You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"

  "Why do I want to go anywhere with you two?" Annabeth huffed while stomping off to the white SUV that would be taking them into the city. Argus was right behind her, keys in hand and leaving behind Percy, Grover, and Briar with Chiron. Though Briar was beginning to follow Annabeth until Percy stopped her, his hand hesitantly latching onto the fold of her elbow in a grip she could easily shake off — which she did.

  That feeling of dread filled every crevice of his body, ensnaring him in darkness. His blood went cold as his body stiffened, the hairs on his arms standing with the rising goosebumps. His heels dug into the ground. Percy wondered if anyone else could feel the pull Briar had, if anyone else was both unnerved and intrigued. "I..." his breathing became heavy, "just wanted to thank you for coming."

  "Briar," Chiron warned.

  The girl released the hold she had on Poseidon's son. The threat was gone yet his body still felt taut, as if she still had pieces of him trapped in her web. "Next time just say it instead of grabbing me."

  His shoulders slowly relaxed as she took measured steps back, a cheeky smile replaced the fearfulness he had seconds prior. "There will be a next time?"

  Instead of getting the last word like Annabeth did, Briar turned and got into the SUV, her own stature stiff and agitated.

  Percy — against his better judgment — was starting to like those small moments of fear. Not because he enjoyed the way his heart worked overtime in his chest or how clammy his hands got, but because it meant Briar was showing something. Luke had mentioned the odd repellent usually happens when feeling threatened or uncomfortable. For the two weeks he had been at camp he had only ever witnessed Briar being; bored, unfeeling, and tired. The one time he had got a reaction out of her ( besides minutes ago ) was right before capture the flag. She had been irritated with him joking about her shadows. Even if they weren't positive emotions, Percy could admit, Briar was abnormally beautiful in all her spine-chilling glory.

JANE!

i rewrote this chapter and i'm still not happy with it. but i'm gonna roll with it

Briar 🤝🏻 half the human population
  hating physical contact.

  Percy thinking Briar is beautiful meanwhile Briar just wants to use him against the Olympians (Briar please let Annabeth explain the prophecy again).