| The Rising Moon: The Awakening of a Demi-Goddess |

█▓▒­░⡷⠂ᴀ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋ⠐⢾░▒▓█

 absquatulate

(v.) to leave without saying goodbye

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Celeste woke up to the warm welcome of the sun tinting tinting the sky a rose hue. She sat up from her glorious tree, sprang down, and cleaned herself up by the river. All of her actions were on auto pilot, her mind mudded and cranky from last nights events. Now that she had caught up on sleep, she had to find out who tried to vandalize her tree. She skipped breakfast, not feeling hungry, and headed straight to the library.

Once she was there, she grabbed a piece of paper and made a diagram. Basically, she wrote each thing she had a question about, and if she had any leads of some sorts.

Empousa—related to Aphrodite some how? Aphrodite wants me dead?

Parental Godly Figure— Not Apollo, but no other leads

Vandalizing Tree— Could be people who I've argued with. Nico, Connor, Aphrodite and Hermes, oh gods the list goes on.

Breakfast— I wonder what they ate today..

She crossed out the last one, rolling her eyes at her eagerness for food. So to basically sum it all up, Aphrodite wanted her dead, her godly parent was lying somehow, and some kid had it out for her. Great. Just great. She blinked, then added another two.

Source of powers— Tattoo related?

Moon— related to powers?

She really did need to find her parental figure if she wanted to figure out her powers, other wise, who knew what could happen? Her fingers smoothly glided against the parchment. She couldn't tell Artemis today, she'd have to solve all of her problems beforehand. She grabbed a red marker and circled the Vandalizing Tree.

I need to get to the bottom of that first, she planed. Okay, so who didn't like her? She pulled out another piece of paper and wrote down the names.

-Nico

-Connor

-Aphrodite (some)

-Hermes (probably all)

-Well actually everyone now..

She groaned and slumped her head on the table. This was never going to work. She irritably rubbed her tattoo. Okay, let's try again, she thought. Except this time, when she looked at the words, they were all jumbled up.

-Cino

-Noconr

-Adi pother

She moaned, picked up the pieces of paper, and threw them away. It seemed as if the universe was just against her today. She ran her fingers through her hair, anger burning in her chest. Why did nothing seem to be working?

She bitterly left the library, her anger digging into her chest. She let out a loud yawn. Sleep was almost impossible to come by, which didn't make her situation any better.

"We have to find out the root cause of the Wraith attacks are, Chiron," Annabeth's faint voice reached Celeste's ears. She blinked. Peaking behind a tree, she saw the blonde haired girl consulting the Centaur.

"We have people to protect, Annabeth. We can't just go off on another mission! We need to think strategically!" Chiron countered. Celeste's brow furrowed. What were they talking about.

"I am thinking strategically! We need to find who's been sending them!" Annabeth huffed back. Celeste searched her mind. What was a Wraith? She had certainly never read about them before. Silently and uncomfortable, she crept away, the quarrel still fresh in her mind. She was already stressed, and hearing about new attacks didn't make things any better than they were. Now all we need is some stupid prophecy and my whole life will be ruined. Scratch that, her life was already sour. She couldn't wait to join the hunters of Artemis.

She frustratedly walked out of camp, glad to see that no one was paying attention to her at her and forgot her existence. The woods were silent. Too silent. The atmosphere turned eerie. Suddenly, an arrow shot by, nearly nicking her neck.

Oh gods, what now? She drew out her daggers, and started to slowly circle around, trying to locate her attackers.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" She yelled. Suddenly, girls wearing beige fluffy coats with fur insides jumped down, bows drawn and feather bandanas on some of them. One of them drew back her bow.

"Bows back! It's a girl!" A black haired girl with choppy hair exclaimed. The weapons went down as she stepped towards Celeste.

"You're the hunters of Artemis, right?" She asked. The black haired girl gave her a swift nod.

"I am Thalia, Artemis's Lieutenant. She has asked you to join, did she not?" Thalia questioned. Celeste nodded, slowly putting the dagger away. Thalia looked at her curiously.

"Since you have still not made your decision, you are free to stay with us for a bit before making your final choice tomorrow," Thalia offered. Celeste blinked. It wouldn't hurt. And it's not like anyone at camp currently cares about me, she thought bitterly. She gave Thalia an accepting nod and watch the hunters set up camp,

Amazing. Spectacular. Wonderful. Those words alone could not even begin to express her time with the hunters. They battled a few monsters. Absorbed the beauty of nature. Chatted and bonded with each other. Celeste felt so at home. The crisp winter breeze flying through her hair, the smell of pine trees, the longing in her chest gone. It felt so relaxing.

"How do you stand them?" One of the hunters, Cherri, had asked her. Celeste blinked at her confusedly.

"Stand who?" She asked. The sun was just about to set, so she was going to have to pack up and head back to camp soon. Cherri swished her long black hair.

"Boys, I mean. How can you stand being in a camp with them?" She gave a small shudder, as if the thought of them made her want to throw up. Celeste's brow furrowed.

"Boys aren't that bad. Sure they're annoying at some points, but most of them can be cool," Her thoughts drifted to Nico, who had been extremely kind and sincere up until last night. Cherri's eyes widened.

"You don't like a boy, do you? You can't join the hunters of Artemis if you're in love," Cherri warned. This was new news to her.

"You can't even be friends with them?" She asked hopelessly. Cherri shook her head at her question.

"Nope, unless your related like Thalia and Jason," Cherri explained. Celeste felt her stomach drop. So that's why- oh. OH. She abruptly stood up, not meeting the black haired girls gaze.

"I should really go," She said awkwardly. The sun was setting now. Cherri shrugged her shoulders and said goodbye. Without looking back, Celeste headed back towards camp, her mind full of worries, questions, and confusion.