Alternatively

The Gods Have Kids

Snow drifted softly to the ground, as it had all night and most of the morning. The clouds reflected back orange light, an ethereal glow falling over the camp despite evening creeping up. Each cabin had torches lit outside their doors, their flames flickering in the breeze.

Her shoes crunched in the snow as she walked to the mess hall.

It was quiet and she could really only hear her breathing and the beating of her heart. No one was playing on the courts or lingering in a pavilion, either still in their bunks or already at their tables. The nymphs were kind of playful, but even they preferred to hole up in hibernation.

She unraveled her scarf when she breached the mess hall's perimeter, a wave of heat washing over her. Conversation was low and sparse, the tables spotty at best, nearly empty in some cases. The Hermes table was still loaded down with campers in comparison, talking and joking, but it was duller than she was used to. It would be one thing to chalk it up to the weather bogging everyone's spirits down, but she's been there too long to believe that.

The bench was cold when she slid to her seat, facing the two siblings who decided to stay year round.

Decided was probably giving them too much choice, though.

Chiron shuffled up by the sacrificial flame, brushing snow from his jacket and back. She watched him look around the hall with tight eyes, attempting to smile at those he made eye contact with but ultimately failing. Their faces weren't sad. Even on the last day of summer, when the place settings for dinner were significantly thinner than they had been for lunch, no one was sad. They were bored, they were tired, but it had been too long to be sad.

She fiddled with her phone, sliding the keyboard up and down as Malcolm and Keller talked. It didn't have reception and she forgot to charge it again, but she kept it with her. Maybe there would be a reason to use it, maybe there would be a reason to get out of camp.

There were stomping steps and she didn't have to look up to know Clarisse had finally showed up, throwing herself into her seat. The girl kept herself busy in the arena, always training. Always looking to prove something.

"Good evening!" Chiron called. "Another day well spent, eh?"

Grumbles of mixed opinions met his cheery attitude.

"As you know, there will be no flying lessons for the rest of the week. Anyone who has that class can take a free period."

Her nail caught on a key.

"On the bright side, we are stocking up on some good weapons, so when capture the flag starts up in a couple weeks, you will have all new equipment to work with."

I wonder if Luke's coming home soon, she thought idly.

"But enough of that, let's get started," he raised his goblet. "To the gods."

The responding repetition was half hearted at best.

Dinner went over how it typically did, no one really sure what to talk about. Luke still wasn't back from his top secret mission, anything new was hardly exciting, and somehow, everyone managed to be in the same mood: irritated. Her homeschooled lessons didn't present any challenges to mull over, so she was stuck replaying memories and running through conversations that would never happen.

There was also a dream, a dream about a boy, but it had only just started to repeat itself, so it couldn't be too important.

There wasn't a real campfire session to follow, not for the year rounders. Almost all the Apollo kids went home for school. Still, the few kids that did go to dinner followed each other to the amphitheater. She might not have liked Clarisse or Travis, but she didn't mind sitting between them as a small bonfire was started up by some counselors and a saytr. As long as they didn't talk, that was.

The flames crackled, embers floating to the sky above.

She tucked her hands under her thighs, watching Chiron talk to one of the Aphrodite counselors. It wasn't fair; with Luke gone and Grover on a mission, losing Chiron to a half blood recruitment would take away almost everyone. She didn't see what would be so important that he would have to leave her, unless it was the prophecy kid, of course.

Even then, she would have preferred he stayed at camp.

"Do you think..."

She tilted her head, not quite looking at Travis.

"Do you think Dad's listening to us?"

"I dunno," his brother replied softly. "Probably, right?"

There was a beat. "Yeah...probably."

She kicked a rock away, staring into the fire. It would be better if the gods weren't listening, because then, she could say that's why her mom never gives her a chance. Everyone gets their chance and at twelve, she deserved her chance.

There was no point otherwise.

"Do you think-"

"Gods, shut up!"

They looked at Clarisse as she shot to her feet, her fists balled.

"Askin' dumb questions," she growled, shaking her fist threateningly before stalking away.

"Jeez," Connor huffed.

Annabeth watched the daughter of Ares as long as she could before shadows blended into shadows, following her to the path to the arena. She was always trying to prove something.

When the rest of the campers broke off, drifting to their cabins, she found herself sitting alone in front of a dying fire. Things would get better when more people came up for winter break, but she knew she was ultimately waiting for summer. Her dreams, her calculated theories, pointed to summer and she knew her time was coming.

Snow drifted all around her, collecting in the hair draped over her crossed arms.

If the gods weren't listening, she was going to make them wish they had.