AMARANTHINE-ɪ, pjo/hp

AURORA MAKES A FRIEND (THREE GUESSES WHO)

Aurora spent that bight in the Hermes Cabin. She cried the entire night along with Kayla mourning for her dead friend. Though the Hermes Cabin would often prank newbies, they all sympathized with Aurora and Kayla. Luke Castellan, the councilor of the cabin along with Lizzie Davids had warned everyone in the cabin to be kind to both Aurora and Kayla. Since neither Aurora nor Kayla had any night clothes (they lost their belongings in the cyclops lair) Annabeth, the blond girl who had given them the news of Saffron's death let them borrow some of her clothes. Luke brought (read: stole) some basic toiletries from the camp store. Since there were no empty bunk beds in the Hermes Cabin, both Kayla and Rory had to squeeze onto the floor. However, they were used to sleeping on the floor and the Hermes Cabin (on Lizzie's orders) had given them extra space.

The next morning when Rory woke up, she looked a mess. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her back was sore from the floor. Her blond hair was back to a mess and all in all she looked like a zombie. Kayla too was in no better situation. The moment they were awake, they were greeted with the cheery face of Lizzie. Lizzie Davids, it turned out was a daughter of Hermes, the god of thieves, pranks, mischief, cheeseburgers, travelers, the internet, speed and agility, tricksters and the list only went longer. She was healthy with a cheerful heart shaped face, light brown hair, slightly tanned skin and mischievous blue eyes. She helped them and showed them to the washrooms (which Aurora wrinkled her nose at (I mean these were made for children of Gods. Surely Gods were more hygienic) and then to the mess hall. As Aurora looked around the mess hall which was an open area which was framed on Greek columns and overlooked the sea. Torches blazed from the columns and a central fire burned inside a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. 

There was a dozen of tables which Lizzie told her were meant for the children of each of the gods. For example, Apollo's children would sit on Apollo's table. She directed them towards the Hermes table. While the rest of the cabins ate and enjoyed, Kayla and Rory sacrificed most of their food, only keeping very little in their plates. While Kayla aimlessly played with her food, Rory's eyes flitted from table to table. They finally fell on Isabelle Prewett. She too looked a mess but even in that state, she looked ethereal. Her red hair fell in messy waves over her shoulder. Her green-blue eyes looked tired. She was wearing a golden hoodie on her orange Camp Half-Blood shirt, and she too just played aimlessly with her food. A boy was sitting beside her, glancing in concern at her every now and then. Suddenly Isabelle's head snapped up and she looked at Rory. Rory's eyes widened, slightly embarrassed at being caught staring. However, Isabelle only offered her a soft smile which the younger girl returned hesitantly.

After breakfast, both Aurora and Kayla were heading towards the archery ring when Isabelle came running towards them along with the blondie, Annabeth. Isabelle smiled tentatively at both of them. Kayla and Rory both returned the smile. "Are you alright?" Kayla blurted out. Isabelle looked a little surprised by the question. She looked at her fingers which were covered with rings. "I'm not sure alright is the right word. Saffron was the satyr who led me here and I owe my life to him. He was more than a friend; he was a brother to me. I don't think I'll be able to recover for a while, but I'll try to..." she trailed off. "I'm sorry. I was actually here to introduce you to Annabeth here." The girl, Annabeth was observing both Kayla and Rory with her steely grey eyes. She was going to say something when Lizzie Davids yelled something out to Kayla. She looked apologetically towards Isabelle who rolled her eyes and beckoned her to go. She turned and ran towards to Lizzie. 

Rory then turned back towards Isabelle and Annabeth. "I know you'll know each other by name but haven't officially met. I think that you'll will get along wonderfully. So, I'm putting Annabeth in charge of showing you around and explaining everything to you, okay?" Rory raised her eyebrows and looked at Annabeth for a second. "Are you sure you're not just doing that so I'm out of your hair?" Isabelle laughed and Rory had to admit that the laugh was cute. She was also certain that she saw Annabeth blush slightly. She hid a smirk. Isabelle ruffled both Aurora's and Annabeth's hair and then sped off towards gods know where.

Both Annabeth and Aurora considered each other for a few seconds, neither of them breaking eye contact. Finally, Annabeth broke the silence. "Have you seen the Camp?" Aurora paused before answering. "Mostly. Expect for the woods And Lizzie mentioned something about getting a weapon." Annabeth's eyes brightened at her words. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "The woods are for capture the flag mostly on Friday nights. They are not forbidden but it's idiocy to go in there unarmed. As for weapons.... I don't think you have any." Aurora shook her head. "I do have weapons. But I want more," she replied. Annabeth raised her eyebrows skeptically. "You need to know to use them. They're not for show." Aurora held back a scoff at the girl's judgmental expression. Instead, she willed for her rings to turn into the twin daggers. They turned into two gleaming daggers: one bronze and the other gold. A large pink rose was engraved on the hilts of both daggers. "I do know how to use them. Or else I don't think a vampire-cheerleader, a hellhound and a cyclops would be killed by these," she shot back. Annabeth looked at her eyes wide, and Aurora knew she was impressed. Aurora glared at her. Annabeth refused to meet her gaze but faltered after a few minutes and sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." Aurora could sense the sincerity under the words, and she felt something deeper in them: a small gleaming hope of friendship.

She smiled at Annabeth. "I'll forgive you. But only if I get a tour of that forest." A wicked gleam appeared in Annabeth's eyes, and she grinned back. "You're on."

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The two young girls ran out of the woods, panting and huffing, small scratches all over their body and wide smiles on their face. Annabeth was practically jumping, her tough composure from earlier gone. "That was fun!" Aurora exclaimed. Annabeth nodded along, still grinning. "That's the first time I've gone to the forest in ages. Last time during Capture-The-Flag, I injured myself and Isa grounded me from the woods. She'll be pissed if she finds out that I went in there!" Aurora shook her head, still giggling. The girls had gotten tangled up with some really mean dryads who accused them of stealing their flower crowns (why would they think that Annabeth and she would want flower crowns was a mystery for Aurora) They ran away and the dryads (who Annabeth was beginning to think were drunk) chased them all over the woods until Annabeth and Aurora tricked them into falling into the lake after which they were extremely annoyed but extremely embarrassed at being tricked by two eight year olds (well, Aurora is seven but we'll ignore that for now) They left chasing them and Rory and Annabeth ran out of the woods trying not to laugh at the stupidity of the dryads.

Aurora and Annabeth soon stopped laughing. Annabeth looked at Aurora, a thoughtful expression across her face. "You mentioned that you wanted weapons, right?" she asked. Aurora nodded, though albeit hesitantly. Annabeth looked around and her face became guarded. She removed a bracelet which adorned her hand. A matching one was in her other hand. "I took this from the toolshed of the Athena's cabin. It has many weapons which are generally used in war. I took it for myself, but it's meant for two people. I'm trusting you with it." Aurora looked at the bracelet, awe on her face. "It's beautiful. What is it?" she asked. The bracelet was simple but elegant. Annabeth shrugged looking slightly annoyed. "I don't know. It's supposed to work only when we need it." Aurora nodded in understanding. She accepted the bracelet, the gift touching her heart. She felt as though she had just made a friend. A friendship she hoped would last.

(a/n: I know this chapter is not very good and is sort of a filler chapter. I'll try to make the next chapter more exciting. But I really want Rory and Annabeth to have this close bond. Also, Rory will most likely be claimed in the next chap. Percy will make his entrance soon tho not in the next chapter but soon, don't worry)