G(r)eek Tragedy

10.

As it turned out, Eithne wouldn't get to meet the campus hotshot until much later. On their way to the arena, Nico talked animatedly with her about what they thought class would be like. Nico thought Percy would do one-on-one duels, but Eithne figured it'd be more of a lecture. Demigods were reckless, but handing a kid a sword and telling them to go ham without any experience seemed like a fast track to meeting Hades.

Faintly, Eithne could hear a commotion behind her. Indignant shouts and curses rang through the air as someone bulldozed their way to the front of the crowd.

"Wait," a voice called, "Nico!"

Suddenly, he wasn't by her side anymore. Eithne looked through the crowd of campers for the familiar mop of messy hair, moving out of the way when she couldn't find him. Honestly, just how far could one kid go?

"What do you want?"

She sighed in relief as she heard Nico's voice, albeit snappy, nearby. Eithne found him a few yards away, outside of Hera's empty cabin. Some girl in a braid had a firm grip on his arm, holding him against the peacock carvings on the wall. Eithne moved to yank her off, but three other girls quickly flanked her sides. They all had flawless, glowing skin and eyes of steel, wearing matching silver-gray hoodies and sparkly white hair ribbons like some kind of purity cult. Eithne glared back. She wouldn't let a friend be pushed around like this, outnumbered or no.

"Nico," the braided girl reprimanded, "where were you? You missed your first day of camp!"

Keeping an eye on the lackeys, Eithne looked at her again. She did look a lot like Nico. They had the same olive skin and dark hair, but something about her felt more. She and her friends stood a little taller, a little prouder, than everyone else here. It made the hairs on the back of Eithne's neck stand up, and she took a small step forward.

Nico grumbled at the ground, refusing to look anyone in the eye. The girl, probably his sister, turned her sight to Eithne and frowned.

"You must be Eithne," she drawled, clearly not liking what she saw. "It's nice that-"

Honestly, Eithne tuned out most of the conversation. The girl didn't even want her to respond, choosing to barrel on. Apparently, that stupid little goat from yesterday told the Hunters of Artemis all about how they skipped going to the cabin.

She didn't think it was a big deal - he was still supervised and having way more fun - but Nico's sister lectured them about responsibility and integrity until Eithne wondered how her jaw hadn't fallen off yet. The others also joined in with insulting comments about how childish campers were. Eithne thought her ears would start bleeding at any second.

She looked over a shoulder at Nico, hoping to laugh at their antics, but he wasn't in the mood. Arm still in his sister's grasp, his face slowly turned bright red. 

A familiar anger bubbled up inside, and Eithne felt her hackles raise. She quickly pushed his sister out of the way and tugged Nico back to her side. The Hunters surrounded their friend, holding her up as she stumbled. One reached for the faint outline of a knife under her sweater.

"What-"

"Look," Eithne interrupted, "fun as it is to get chewed out, we got to make friendship bracelets and sing kumbaya or whatever."

She wrapped her arm around Nico's waist and dragged him away before the Hunters could retaliate. A few strangers gave them looks, but nobody followed them to the docks. The Long Island Sound stretched before them, a dull blue-gray as it kissed the shore. He shook her off and sat at the edge of the dock, shoving his hands into his pockets as his leg shook like a dreaming dog.

"Sooo, that sucked," Eithne drawled awkwardly. "Those chicks had a real stick up their ass."

Nico didn't even blink. Eithne took a deep breath, reminding herself that patience was a virtue, and tried again.

"Especially your sister?"

With a sigh, he finally glanced her way. "How'd you know?"

Because she nagged us forever? Because she had no problem letting her friends walk all over you? Because you look ready to cry?

"Just...a guess."

"Bianca isn't staying. At camp, I mean. When Artemis saved us, she said Bianca could follow her as a Hunter. No boys - or brothers - allowed. I guess...I guess she's trying to make up for it or something."

"Oh."

His stare burned through her; Nico's gaze darker than anything she'd felt before. His mouth pinched at the corners, lips flashing white. "I thought you'd be mad."

"Look, I've had people I felt...responsible for, and I left."

Eithne scratched her arm, looking anywhere but at the boy next to her. He didn't say a word.

"It wasn't anything they did," she continued, a little faster. "They were good, maybe too- but it's hard enough carrying your own dead weight. Taking care of someone is easy at first, but the longer you go, the more annoying it gets, you know? And then you just get so mad, and it hurts if you don't get it out! But that hurts everyone around you, too. I-uh...It's better, I think, if she can stop before it goes that far."

The air settled with a heavyweight. Nico was curled into a ball now, head between his knees and hair sticking in every direction. She wanted to help somehow, to do or say something to get that pretty smile back. But Eithne knew this was her fault. She should've kept her mouth shut. What did she know? They just met, and he-

"I can't remember my family," Nico blurted. He lifted his head just enough so Eithne could see his eyes, dark and wet with tears.

"What?"

"I know we were at this hotel for a while, and then a lawyer picked us up. He said our parents were dead. Just like that. He put us in boarding school and paid the tuition and everything. But honestly? I...I forgot we had parents. When I try to think of them, all I see is Bianca."

"Oh."

"Yeah..."

Fuck, she was terrible at this. Literally anyone else at this gods-forsaken camp would be a better life coach, but she was all Nico had right now.

"Is that why you're so upset?"

"I guess," he sighed. "Bianca remembers more than me. Sometimes there's things she says, and when I don't know it, she gets scared. She acts like she isn't, but she is."

"Sounds like she was being a mom. Not a sister."

No words were spoken after that. Nico stared at the waves as they crawled back and forth across the sand. He was stuck years in the past. Eithne awkwardly turned around and stared at Camp Half-Blood, watching a world she never knew existed. She wondered if it'd ever feel normal. The silence felt different this time, though, and when Nico grabbed her hand, she knew what to call it.

Soft. The silence was soft.