Avoiding the Hunters of Artemis

Chapter 3- Nico's P.O.V.

-Sunday, July 3rd-

I had to ask around a bit to figure out where Kamaria was.

It's chore time. Sadly, I had to talk to more than a couple of people. She's picking strawberries, and as I approach her, I spot her quickly. Most of her cabin mates have collected into a sleeping cuddle pile, basking in the sun. Her and a couple others are actually doing what they're supposed to.

"Hey!" I call out to her, and she looks at me. I get a bit closer to her before saying anything else, "Want to come train? I'm not free later today."

"I mean... I'm sort of the only one working here." Kamaria says. "Where were you anyway?"

"Some business at Camp Jupiter came up. Will accompanied me there." I tell her simply.

Kamaria is a newer camper here, a child of Hypnos who has vitiligo and can also shadow-travel. I've been mentoring her.

I kind of feel like I've gotten close with her recently, in the short amount of time she's been here. There's something about her. I know better than to trust anyone from this cabin though, they can see my dreams and consequently all of my deepest and darkest secrets.

"Right. Glad you made it back alright. I can't train right now, but we can tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow. Okay." I say, "Normal time?"

My plan threw off our schedule more than that does, yet it still bothers me. Maybe because I wasn't expecting her to say no to me. I'm not sure why; I get told no all the time.

"I can do normal time. Is there any way that we can... train tomorrow and the day after, too?"

"I can make time for you."

"Thanks. I won't be able to train anymore after that." She says, looking back at the plants she's picking from. She continues picking the ripe ones.

I stop, watching her with the strawberries. "What? Why?"

"I joined the Hunters of Artemis. I'm leaving with them in two days." She says proudly.

"...What?" I say again.

She looks back up at me. "Do you not know who the Hunters are? Weren't you talking with Thalia?"

"I know who they are," I say, unable to hide the bitterness behind that, "You're supposed to be my protege."

"You never told me that." She laughs. "Look. I like what they stand for, and I want to travel and make a difference."

"I didn't think I had to tell you that." I glare at the ground, considering it. The plants are dying. How odd.

She backs away from the dying plant. "...I appreciate that you've been teaching me, but I didn't think that made you have a claim on me."

"I don't have a claim on you, I just figured..." I trail off because I have no idea what I figured, "Don't you want to keep training and stuff?"

"I do, but I don't know when they'll be coming back again." She tells me. "I can't pass this opportunity up."

"It's not an opportunity. They'll be back, they always show up at the worst times."

"Worst times? Do you know something I don't?"

"About the Hunters?" I chuckle humorlessly, "They show up and pick whichever girls they want, whoever seems powerful to them. Then they manipulate them into thinking they can find a sense of belonging with them, only to pull them away from everything they already had and make them immortal so they can watch everyone they used to care about die...all so they can serve a goddess."