snowfall // percy jackson x OC

chapter 10

Eira's place in camp was complicated. She had been claimed by her mother Khione within her first few days at Camp Half Blood, but what good did that do? Following along on two quests over the past two summers is the only reason she has any sort of recognition amongst her peers, but she doesn't dwell on it too much- for her own sanity. 

She has a permanent bed in the Hermes cabin tucked away towards the back wall, which funnily enough, used to belong to Luke Castellan when he was the cabin leader. She has her own space she shares with the Stoll brothers, the three of them taking the responsibilities of cabin leaders to represent all thirty-something claimed and unclaimed kids thrown into the quarters of one cabin. 

They sit together now, three chairs in a row around a ping pong table in the rec room of the Big House. Eira watches the odd group of campers and Hunters, trying to discern the lines of the prophecy as she does so. 

"This is pointless." Zoe Nightshade chimes into the silence, her smooth accent prominent in her very positive remark. "There is no time for talk," she adds. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron chimes in.

"West!" Bianca says from beside the more experienced Huntress. In the past day, she had grown to become a second to Zoe Nightshade. Eira suspects Zoe took a liking to the young girl.

Eira traces Bianca's face with her eyes. She notices a glint in the girl's skin that was not there before. She looked older, regal even. Eira was in awe of how much the girl had changed in the short time since her joining Artemis. 

The goddess's words to Eira ring in her ears involuntarily. She pushes them out. Don't think about that anymore, she tells herself. 

"You heard the prophecy. Five shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get five hunters and go," Bianca finishes. 

Something was not right with her statement. Eira retraces what she remembers of the prophecy and a line is brought to the forefront immediately. Campers and hunters combined prevail. 

"That can't be right," Eira speaks up. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. That was the line." Bianca looks at her and nods, not sharing Thalia and Zoe's reluctance towards the other. 

"They're missing something, as usual," Thalia says, aimed towards the oldest Hunter. "We're supposed to do this together." 

"No!" Zoe says. "The Hunters do not need thy help."

Thalia corrects the girl for her usage of old English, the two barking back and forth about the pronunciation of words while Chiron assures the two that campers and Hunters do, in fact, need to work together on the quest. 

"Or do they?" Mr. D muses. He holds his Diet Coke in his hands and ignores the looks he receives from the other campers around the table, including Eira, who wants with all of her might to knock the can out of his hand. "One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try and cooperate?" 

"Mr. D," Chiron says defeatedly. "With all due respect, whose side are you on?"

"Sorry my dear centaur," he says with a sarcastic bow of his head and a motion to signal he has it from there, "just trying to be helpful."

Great job at that, Eira replies in her head. 

"We're supposed to work together," Thalia says to Zoe with hesitance. "I don't like it either, Zoe, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"

Zoe doesn't reply to the daughter of Zeus, she instead furrows her eyebrows and looks down to her hand on the table. 

The cabin leaders are told that in five days, the winter solstice will be held in Olympus. Artemis, being one of the most vocal goddesses on the council, would be a loss in planning the future of Kronos and his army.