Sunburn- phoebus apollo

--iii. rhea has a convo with artemis

RHEA DIDN'T KNOW HOW to react. She's close with the sun god, and that's what made her nervous about meeting Artemis. It didn't help matters that the goddess kept staring at her intently; with those silvery eyes as bright as the moon. It was so different from what she was used to.

Apollo and Artemis are polar opposites, yet they couldn't live without each other. After all, their needed to be a balance, just how day can't live without night.

And yet, she felt comfortable in her presence, because it reminded her of being next to Apollo. Though at the same time it couldn't feel any more different.

Percy was the one who broke the silence. He said something intelligent. "Um... okay."

That was nothing compared to Grover. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so... you're so... Wow!"

"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!"

"Whoa," Bianca di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out."

Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of them in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who... who are you people?"

Artemis's expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you! Who are your parents?"

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis.

"Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but..."

She faltered. Rhea guessed she could tell from our faces that they didn't believe her.

"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."

"You're a half-blood Bianca," Rhea spoke up for the first time since Artemis's arrival. She fiddled with her necklace when the goddess turned her attention to her. "One of your parents is mortal, the other is an Olympian."

"An Olympian... athlete?"

"No," Zoe said. "One of the gods."

"Cool!" said Nico. Rhea smiled at that.

"No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"

Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

As anxious as Rhea felt about her encounter with the goddess of the Hunt, she couldn't help feeling sorry for the di Angelos. Rhea remembered what it was like for her when she discovered that she was a demigod.

Thalia must've been feeling something similar, because the anger in her eyes subsided a little bit. "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well... Our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous," Bianca said, "like the girl who fell."

Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained.

"Do not despair for Annabeth," the goddess said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."

"Then why won't you let us go look for her?" Percy asked.

"She is gone," Artemis said. "Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."