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

█▓▒­░⡷⠂ᴀ ʙᴏʟᴅ ᴍᴏᴠᴇ⠐⢾░▒▓█

 eunoia

(n.) beautiful thinking; a well mind

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Celeste heard a soft voice call out her name, and gentle fingers shifting her to make her arise. She blinked open her eyes, confusion, exhaustion, heartbreak, and shock all washing over her. She had spoke to her mother. Was it even possible for the dead to speak in dreams? It must be, because that was her, she thought. But why had she been so different before? So cold and different? Was she really right; were her friends holding her back.

"The- the others thought I should wake you up," A cinnamon brown haired girl with golden eyes said shyly. Celeste blinked rapidly, coming back to her senses.

"Hazel Levesque?" She asked for confirmation. The nut brown skinned girl nodded bashfully. Celeste rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"What time is it?" She asked the daughter of Pluto. Pulled out her watch and glanced at it before looking back at her.

"3:28 PM," she said, which made a bit of bitterness explode inside Celeste. She said a few hours, not 7. They really are forgetting me, she thought wistfully. Discouraged, She picked herself up from her bed and walked out of her cabin with the Hazel girl tailing behind her. She had never had a direct conversation with her, only a few 'hello's' here and there.

While walking in the hall, she noticed something small shimmering out of the corner of her eye. She turned and picked up a beautiful diamond, which was the size of her palm. Hazel gave her an uncomfortable look.

"Sorry! I'm still working on controlling my powers; you can keep it though," the girl said sheepishly. Celeste gave her a confused look. Why was this girl apologizing for her finding such a precious gem?

"Right, I didn't tell you! I was, um, cursed so that gems would always come from no where where ever I was, but people who picked up the gems would be hexed. The hex is broken now, so you won't be in trouble; I'm still working on making less and less gems pop up though;" Hazel confessed. Celeste sucked in a breath.

Gems that could hex your opponents? That could be... useful, she thought deviously. Her mind froze. Did she really think that? No, that was the voice. My mother; I mean. But would she say that? She bit her lip and nodded to Hazel before turning blowing out a stray hair that had drifted towards her eye.

"You know..." Hazel started, glancing at Celeste. "You and Nico are pretty close," She said, giving her a small smile. Celeste blushed, looking away from Nico's technically half sister.

"You know... you could potentially be my half sister," Hazel added. They were now on the main deck. Celeste put two and two together, her face blushing furiously.

"I-I—Uhm, thanks for waking me up!" She dashed away from Hazel, quickly going towards a random side of the boat. She gazed at the view, the air sickness starting to kick in, when she blinked, and suddenly Nico was there.

"Ahh!" She jumped in shock and fell over. He'd been using his- what do you call it- shadow flying? To teleport around from place to place, startling her every now and then. He smiled and let out a hand for her to grab.

Don't grab it. You don't need other people to always rely on, the voice whispered to her. She blinked. But... it's Nico? He's being nice to me-

No one can be trusted! You know you can do it. Get up yourself, the voice hissed coldly to her. Was this really her mother. She reluctantly obliged, and instead of taking his hand, got up herself. She leaned her elbows on the railings, hoping she didn't come off as rude. He seemed to notice this, and gave her a small glance.

"You-"

"I'm fine," She cut in, a bit harsher than she had meant. She gave him an apologetic look before staring out at the open sky, afraid to converse with him. After a few moments of silence, she spoke.

"So you can... shadow teleport? Shadow fly? What's it called?" She asked him, fiddling with her chocker.

"Shadow Travel. It kind of uses the shadows as a tunnel to go to different places; although going long distances can drain a person a lot," he explained. She let out a breath.

"You can go anywhere?" Her eyes widened. He nodded, and the calculations ran in her mind, an idea forming.

"Yep. I once went to China, but I passed out for a whole week," He said grimly. She gave him an apologetic look; and ignoring the voices; intertwined her fingers with his. His face seemed to gain a bit more color than it's usual shade, and he looked away. Her mind clicked.

"If China... 7,000- Italy..." She muttered, the distance clicking in her mind. He turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"But what if.... I could try- but.. it'll be worth it," She mumbled, and he gave her a questioning glance.

"What are you planning?" He joked. She gave him a small grin and tightened her hand on his. Don't do that! You can't trust him! You can't trust anyone! The voice screeched. For once, she pushed it back, wanting to see Nico genuinely smile.

"I can't tell you now, but meet me right here once everyone is sleeping," She told him. He gave her a questionable look; as if you won't kill me- right? She rolled her eyes and stretched back.

"Relax, just trust me, okay?" She asked, her voice more confident. He gave her a nod and she grinned.