Dancing with Death

A Dire Breakfast

A thin layer of snow blanketed the forest floor as she wandered aimlessly through the endless night. Millions of stars shone brightly overhead, but there was no moon. The skeleton branches of the trees grasped at the sky like contorted fingers. The woods were dead silent. Nothing moved. It was as if everything were frozen in time. Everything except her.

She didn't belong in this place. She was too colorful, too loud, too chaotic for the peaceful forest. She was out of place, like a bull in a china shop. If she stayed too long, she feared she'd destroy the delicate serenity.

As she walked, the snow didn't crunch beneath her feet. She didn't feel the cold, despite wearing nothing more than a purple t-shirt and leggings. Her feet were bare.

A soft breeze tousled her hair, but nothing else moved.

She turned to find a stern-faced woman with a goat skin draped over her shoulders, standing resolutely in the snow. "Juno."

"Good." The goddess commended. "It seems you have some sense."

"What do you want?" She remembered the stories of how the goddess had appeared more than once throughout the day.

"From you?" Juno took a threatening step forward. "Nothing." She circled her prey spitefully. "You were never part of my plan. You're not even supposed to exist." The goddess glared at her fiercely. "You're a mistake, a disgrace, a monstrosity."

It took all she had not to collapse under the goddess' angry gaze. "You don't know what I am."

"Don't I?" Juno challenged. "Remember, your memories are fake. Who do you think gave them to you?"

She gasped as the pieces clicked together.

"Face it." The goddess pinched her chin. "I know you better than you know yourself, Freak."

Eliza jolted awake, breathing hard, the goddess' words still echoing in her mind. A cold sweat ran down her back. She clutched the corners of the mattress. Now, Juno... err Hera had appeared to Piper, Jason, and her. That just left Leo as the odd man out, but he had been acting strange since they'd mentioned it, so... maybe he wasn't.

What had the goddess been trying to tell her? She'd said she was a mistake, that she wasn't supposed to exist. What had the goddess taken away from her? What was she hiding with the Mist?

Eliza glanced down and noticed a tiny white flower poking through a hairline crack in the floor. It must have been a long time since anyone had lived in this cabin. Reaching down, she plucked the small blossom from its stem and twirled it between her fingers.

It had five soft minuscule petals and a tiny yellow center. It's pale green stem branched with two veiny leaves.

She stared at it, mesmerized. It felt like she could sense the vitality draining from the severed bloom.

Jason yawned and stretched on the other side of the room. He noticed Eliza staring at the flower. "Are you okay?"

She snapped back to reality. "Yeah. Fine."

He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "What's that?"

She instinctively pulled it away. "Nothing. Just... a gypsophila."

"A what?" Jason asked.

Eliza smirked. "A flower."

He chuckled. "Come on. Let's get breakfast."
* * *
Eliza abandoned the Hermes table and sat down next to Jason at the Zeus table.

"You're gonna get us in trouble." He hissed.

She gave him a look. "I'm not going to let you eat alone. Besides, I can't with the Hermes kids."

Before Jason could respond, a massive wolf bounded out of the trees and skidded to a stop in the grass between the mess hall and the beach. It bore three people on its back. One was a girl no older than 13 with thick black hair pulled back in a tight ponytail trailing down her back. The other two wore thick fur-lined coats with the hoods pulled up to shroud their faces.

Annabeth was the first to stand up and jog towards the strangers.

The three riders dismounted the monstrous canine - a dire wolf - and it collapsed heavily to the ground panting.

The girl patted its neck. "Good boy. Now rest."

The wolf growled in protest.

The girl sighed. "You're no use to her exhausted."

Eliza recognized the girl's voice from somewhere. Then it clicked. The conversation Annabeth had had with Ali. A giant wolf, like the one now before her, had entered the picture and that girl had spoken from out of frame.

Annabeth had reached the visitors by now. "What happened?"

"It's alright." One of the hooded figures turned to face Annabeth. She had long blonde hair and ice-blue eyes. Subtle freckles peppered her cheeks. "Ali's fine."

The other hooded rider faced the coming crowd of campers. She looked identical to the other hooded girl, but her hair was parted to the side not down the middle. "She sent us here while she searches for Perseus Jackson. She believes she can travel more quickly on her own."

"We protested." The first blonde continued. "but she is not one to heed her elders."

"Don't worry." The younger girl walked over from the wolf's head. "She can take care of herself. She'll find him."

"I know." Annabeth confirmed. "I'm not worried she won't find him. I'm worried where she'll find him."

"From what I gather," the blonde with the side-part spoke up. "he's a strong boy. He'll be fine. I have no doubt you'll see him again."

"Annabeth." A boy that shared a striking resemblance to her touched her shoulder.

Annabeth turned and found the entire camp staring at the three strangers and the giant wolf.

Chiron made his way through the crowd, looking the three girls over. "You've had a long journey. You should rest." He gestured towards the cabins. "I think you'll find your mother's cabin accommodating. It glows silver. You can't miss it."

The blondes, obviously twins, nodded their gratitude and walked towards the cabins. The younger girl patted the wolf's snout and threw her arms around Annabeth. "That's from Ali." Then she trotted off after the twins.

Everyone watched the girls intently as they approached Cabin 8 and entered without hesitation.

Eliza stayed longer than the others, staring at the silver cabin. More daughters of Diana or Artemis. So much for virginity.

A/N
Sorry, it's been a couple days. I did warn you I'd be slower for a while. I'm sort of stalling until I get Mark of Athena. 😅
Also, I know this is a really weird place to stop, but I didn't know what else to do. If I kept going, this would've turned into a REALLY long chapter.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.
-Cheshire