Umbra

Chapter 3

Most days, she hated being alive.

It was simple to hate everything. She wasn't sure she fully felt it, but it was easier to think of things that way. Hate meant certainty. Adding on a sense of dread to that only served to make it worse, made things inconclusive and out of her control.

She was not supposed to be afraid of things, but this, a possibility of another evil coming to them, that did scare her. Could it be that she was terrified of being alive? That might explain a lot of things.

Dinner was boring. Leo was present with his Hephaestus siblings, and Jason was made to sit with the Hermes Cabin, but aside from a worried look plastered on Annabeth's face, no one had any real information on what was going on. Rachel Dare, the Oracle, had come to help with the search for Percy, and even she looked shaken, as if there wasn't good news.

Still, no one said anything. Pollux told Emilia that the campfire would probably be informative. Most nights, she tuned it out. She didn't enjoy the singing, not because it was bad, but because she couldn't maintain the upbeat attitude through a chorus, much less an entire song.

Jason sat beside Annabeth, and Piper arrived from the Big House, having missed dinner. Emilia sat in the darkest part, the shadows wrapped around her to keep her warm. No one was bothered by this anymore, they simply thought of it as her wearing a big cloak.

Pollux came to sit beside her, technically uninvited. She supposed that was what friends did. She wished she could be a good friend to him. Yet somehow, he didn't seem to mind how she acted. Whatever she was doing was enough for him. He kept coming back for more of her pathetic attempts at being normal.

The Apollo cabin was leading the sing along with their lyres, chanting a strange song about a grandmother getting dressed for war. When they finished, Chiron trotted up to them, holding a spear with toasted marshmallows impaled on it. "Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first–"

"What about capture the flag?" called out one of the Ares kids. Grumbling broke out among the other siblings, all eager to have another game. Emilia had yet to experience one and she wasn't sure she wanted to. She'd only been in one real battle, and that wasn't friendly in the slightest. She wasn't sure she was ready for a normal competitive match against campers who were still skeptical of her.

"Yes," said Chiron, "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."

"And kill people!" one shouted.

"However," said Chiron, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"

Nyssa mumbled, "We're working on it."

One of the Ares kids demanded, "How, Nyssa?"

"Really hard!" She huffed as more campers began to yell, Pollux included. He'd told Emilia a week ago that if she was going to be the one to watch at the next capture the flag– everyone would want to see who'd pick her: Clarisse or Annabeth.

(Clarisse had acknowledged she was a great fighter even though she truly disliked her. Annabeth, of course, treated her just fine and knew what she was capable all the same, but being a much better strategist, no one was sure if her kindness would mean picking Emilia or figuring out how to deal with her.)

Chiron stamped his hoof to get everyone's attention. "We will have to be patient. In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."

"Percy?" asked Travis Stoll hopefully. The campfire dimmed, and Emilia felt the shadows wanting to surge forward. She pulled them back.