Treacherous

Chapter 2: A.M.

By the time we arrived at dining pavilion, every camper knew what happened earlier today and it was noticeable by the looks we got. The story about part of the Hunters of Artemis arriving at the camp with two nearly dead girls was circling all around, probably being the highlight of their day.

"Mae, they're staring at us." Irene said to me while we walked to our table.

"It's because we're so incredible, cookie." Clarissa replied, an amused smile on her face.

Irene and Clarissa were my closest friends in the Hunt. They are the opposite of one another; Clarissa was mortal, and with her dark skin, a heavy accent and a very strong personality, she contrasted with Irene's blond curls and shyness. I was in the Hunt for a few years when they joined, only months apart, and we had almost the same age. It wasn't perfect at the beggining, but eventually we learned how to get along. Like Clarissa said sometimes, it was a Hunters thing; we have the ability to bond with each other independently of any differences we may have.

Most of the tables in the pavilion were filled with demigods; it was middle of the summer, which meant summer vacation for them. Passing by Cabin 6 table on our way, I saw the kids staring at me, recognizing the gray eyes we shared. I could see the questions in their eyes, wondering if I really was a child of Athena.

I decided to let them have fun figuring this out.

Dinner was loud, but peaceful. We had fun laughing about the campers looking at us and remembering old stories of our moments here. After we finished eating, Chiron stood up to make his customary toast to the gods.

"And it's with delight that I welcome the Hunters of Artemis here tonight. As usual, we will have our friendly match of capture the flag at friday, it's a tradition whenever the Hunters are here."

The news were clearly appreciated. Whispering and cheering started; they certainly would spend the next days creating strategies to win the game over us.

I cannot say I was not excited for that. Capture the flag was fun, and an easy victory was always good for the ego; even if we are down two hunters, we will have days to rest, so it would not be a real challenge.

"Great! I'm in the mood for killing some boys." I hear Clarissa say to the girls. We all laughed and then dinner was over, everyone returning to their cabins. Some campers from Cabin 10 were passing by, glaring at us with irritation. We ignored them; this antagonism between the Hunters of Artemis and children of Aphrodite was childish and foolish, but not recent. Unfortunately it seemed nothing I could do would make it better, so I just made my way to Cabin 8 for the night.

Now that the sun came down, the Artemis cabin was at its full splendor; all built in silver, the walls reflected the moon light, making the cabin glow at night. Inside, I watched the girls preparing to sleep, climbing up their bunks and unfolding blankets.

Our group had around twenty girls, counting Thalia and Henrietta. After the war, more and more girls joined us, which is incredible, but problematic because hunting with more than forty girls at the time was nearly impossible, so we had to separate into smaller groups to hunt with Artemis.

"Do you think we will have to be here much time, Mary?" Elizabeth asked me when I was lying down in my bed.

"I don't know, Eliza. We have to wait for the girls to get better, and then wait for new orders by Lady Artemis."

She didn't say anything, rolling to her side and ending the conversation.

When everyone was at their respective bunks, Clarissa looked around before saying:

"Lights out!"

🏹

Three hours later, I still couldn't sleep. It wasn't exactly a problem, at least not anymore. I spent all my life having difficulty to sleep, and always got worse when we visit Camp Half-Blood. I never understood why, I just accepted it.